By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, September 1, 2020: The Sun Temple at Konark – a major tourist attraction, was on Tuesday re-opened for visitors after remaining closed for more than five months following the outbreak of COVID-19, officials said.

Visitors can enter the monument following all the norms set both by the Centre and the state government. Wearing of masks and physical distancing has been made mandatory for the visitors of the heritage site. Tourists, however, will undergo thermal screening before their entry.

While 1,500 visitors will be allowed to visit the site between 6 am and 1 pm, another 1,000 persons can enter the premises in the afternoon hours.

Earlier, other ASI protected monuments in the state like Raja Rani temple, Udaygiri, Khandagiri, Lalitgiri Buddhist monuments were opened. But the Sun Temple at Konark remained closed till August 31 due to restrictions imposed by the Puri district administration.

However, then living temple like Shree Jagannath Temple continues to remain closed since March 15 as a precautionary measure to check the spread of the infection.