Sri Jagannath temple administration has insured the lives of pilgrims, who will throng the holy town of Puri to witness famous Rath Yatra, with the New India Assurance Company Limited (NIACL), a leading general insurance company
The risk cover is for 15-days- starting from the day of Nabajauban Darshan (the day preceding Rath Yatra) on July 8 to Niladri Vijaya (the return of the deities to the temple after nine days sojourn) on July 21.
The area of coverage is limited to 3-km long Badadanda (grand road) of Puri in between Singha Dwar (Lion's Gate) to Gundicha Temple) and up to 50 feet of the by-lanes connected to the grand road, sources said.
The chariots of the deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will roll on the grand road on Rath Yatra Day on July 10, amid the presence of thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad.
In the event of death of any devotee due to stampede or any other accident within the insured area, the family of the deceased will get Rs 1 lakh.The temple administration has paid Rs 40,450 as premium amount to NIACL, the public relation officer of Puri temple, Laxmidhar Pujapanda said. The temple authorities expect congregation of around 10 lakh devotees to witness the famous festival.
Keeping in view the assembly of large number of devotees during Rath Yatra, the temple administration has been insuring the lives of the visitors for past few years. The life coverage was for Rs 2 lakh three years back, but the coverage has been reduced to Rs 1 lakh since last three years.
The temple administration is also insuring the lives of devotees who everyday visit the 1200-year-old temple to have a glimpse of the deities. The cover for the stampede death inside the temple is Rs 1 lakh.
The validity of the insurance inside the temple is throughout the year. Since the annual insurance period will come to end on July 22 next, the administration has also made arrangement to renew the same. An amount of Rs 78, 282 was paid to the insurance company as a part of the annual premium, he said. The period of insurance will be from July 23, 2013 to July 22, 2014.
