Fire breaks out atop Jagannath Temple in Puri

March 19: A flag atop the Srimandira in Puri of Odisha caught fire on Thursday night. Today is Papamochani ekdasi. Reportedly,  lamps had been placed atop the temple on the occasion of Ekadasi today which caught fire due to the gusty winds.

The flag tied to the metal wheel was reduced to ashes fueling apprehensions of bad omen among the devotees. Scores of people were taken aback after the holy flags atop Puri Srimandir caught fire. A video of the fire incident is now doing rounds on social media. As per devotees, this is an indication by Lord Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe about coming up of a huge hazard.

Following the coronavirus scare and restriction for devotees, rituals of Srimandir concluded early this evening and the Maha Deepa was placed atop the temple for Ekadashi. As per temple servitors, it is the first such incident in the history of the temple.

Flags are fixed atop the famous temple and height of Puri temple is 214 feet. Hence, nobody can see from a close distance anything that happens atop  the temple. However, we can see fire atop the temple as seen in the video. The Jagannath Temple will remain closed for the next 14 days as a measure for the prevention of the COVID-19 outbreak.