The famous abode of Lord Shiva Deoghar’s Baba Baidyanath Dham one of the 12 Jyotirlingas among the Hindus and Baba Basukinath temple in Dumka district is going to reopen for devotees nearly five months after the State Government ordered for closure of two famous temples in Santhal Pargana to check Covid 19 infection on April this year. The department of Home, Prisons and disaster management joint secretary, Manish Tiwari on Wednesday issued letters to Deoghar and Dumka district administration for reopening these two temples with fresh guidelines.
The State government decided to open these two temples based on Supreme Court guidelines dated July 31. Earlier, the Supreme Court on its July 31 order in response to a PIL filed by the BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey had ordered opening of temple doors for an hour early on Monday (August 3) morning for a limited number of devotees in accordance with a state home department communique. But with today’s order the temple doors will be open for all seven days. As per State Government directive, the darshan will be only for devotes of State. The number of persons of general public permitted to do darshan shall not exceed 50 per hour at Baba Baidyanath Dham (Deoghar). Also, darshan for the common man shall be permitted for duration not exceeding four hours per day. Entry of the commoners to temple premises may preferably be on the basis of online entry pass.
Similarly, entry of devotees at Baba Basukinath temple in Dumka will be limited only for residents of Jharkhand. The number of persons of general public permitted to do darshan shall not exceed 40 per hour. Darshan for the general public shall be permitted for duration not exceeding four hours per day. The entry of the general public at Baba Basukinath temple may preferably be on the basis of online entry pass.
It is said that as many as 35 lakh persons visited the shrine at Deoghar in 2017. The number swells to 38 lakh in 2018, while in 2019 the number jumps to 39 lakh. As per an official record, about 10,000- 15000 devotees including outsiders visit this temple everyday for worshipping.
The footfalls at the temple touch 20,000-25,000 on every Monday on a normal day.
