Bhubaneswar, Jan. 2 -- The Patitapaban Temple under the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri opened with a considerable delay on Friday, resulting in a major postponement of the Patitapaban Aarti amid a heavy influx of devotees on the second day of the new English calendar year.

Temple sources confirmed that the Aarti of Patitapaban Jagannath, situated near the entrance of the Srimandir, was finally conducted at 9:54 am, much later than the scheduled morning ritual. The delay occurred as the Patitapaban Temple remained closed from early morning hours, disrupting the customary darshan schedule for devotees.

Sources reported that from dawn, lakhs of devotees had assembled near the Srimandir, many of them seeking darshan of the Patitapaban Jagan...