Puri, Dec. 30 -- In accordance with a decision taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja at Lok Seva Bhawan, the Shree Jagannatha Temple in Puri will remain closed to devotees during the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.

As per the decision, the 12th-century shrine will remain closed from 11 pm on December 31 till 2 am on January 1.

The meeting was attended by Director General of Police Y.B. Khurania, senior officials of the Home Department and the Puri Superintendent of Police.

The decision follows a letter written by Mahesh Kumar Sahoo, a member of the temple's managing committee, to the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Odisha government. In the letter, Sahoo described the...