In his first cabinet meeting, Odisha’s new Chief Minister, Mohan Manjhi, approved the proposal to reopen all gates of Puri’s Jagannath Temple for devotees. On Thursday, June 13, all four gates of the temple—Simhadwara (Lion Gate), Ashwadwara (Horse Gate), Vyaghradwara (Tiger Gate), and Hastidwara (Elephant Gate)—were opened. Chief Minister Manjhi, along with his ministers, Puri MP Sambit Patra, Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, and other leaders, visited the temple in the morning.

The newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party government in Odisha had announced the reopening of all the gates of this revered shrine, which had been closed since the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously, devotees could only enter through the Simhadwara, leading to long queues and overcrowding. Reopening all gates was a significant election promise of the BJP.

During the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the government also announced the creation of a ₹500 crore corpus fund for the upkeep and development of the 12th-century temple.

Odisha minister Suryabanshi Suraj stated, “During the elections, we had said that we would reopen all four gates… All four gates of the temple are going to be opened today. All members of the Council of Ministers are present here. The CM is also present… A corpus fund worth ₹500 crores has also been announced for development projects… We took the oath yesterday and we are opening the gates today.”

Chief Minister Mohan Manjhi emphasized the significance of this decision, saying, “The state government decided to reopen all four gates of the Puri Jagannath temple early this morning in the presence of all ministers. Devotees will now have access to the temple through all four gates.”