Bhopal postpones reopening of religious shrines after consulting religious leaders

Even as the Central government has allowed the opening of religious places from June 8 and standard operating procedures  (SOPs) have also been issued concerning the same, the Bhopal administration has decided to postpone the reopening of religious places by a week. 

Tarun Pithode, Collector Bhopal has said that the decision has been taken after consulting the religious priests who gave feedback of not allowing the religious shrines to open yet.

"The religious leaders in Bhopal have urged that there is some difficulty in opening the shrine at present, it will take some time to prepare for the instructions given in the SOP in view of coronavirus. That is why the decision to open the shrine has been postponed for one week. After a week, we will conduct another review and then decide about the open the religious shrines" said Pithode.

However, Ujjain, another prominent city of Madhya Pradesh, which is known for the famous Mahakaleshwar temple will open its doors for devotees from Monday, June 8. The Mahakal temple is said to open after nearly eleven weeks.

The Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, located around 175 km from Bhopal, is one of the 12 "jyotirlingas" in the country and attracts lakhs of devotees every year.

"The temple will reopen on Monday. It will be kept open between 8 am and 6 pm as per the central guidelines," temple management committee's administrator Sujan Rawat told PTI on Saturday.

"We are going to launch a mobile application and set up a toll-free number for the devotees to book an appointment to enter in the shrine," he added.

The world's richest temple - Lord Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh- will reopen for devotees on June 11. The temple, which usually sees an average daily footfall of 50,000 to 70,000 will now be restricted to just 6,000 to 7,000 devotees in its initial days of reopening. At a given hour, only about 500 devotees will be allowed inside the temple.

Likewise, with the Kanaka Durga temple in Andhra Pradesh, the government has decided to conduct a two-day trial on June 8 and 9, before reopening from June 10. Whereas Kerala's Sabarimala Temple is set to reopen from June 14 for devotees and for the monthly rituals and festivals.

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Centre's SOP for the opening of religious places

• Entrance must have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitizer dispenser) and thermal screening provisions.
• Only asymptomatic persons must be allowed and entry must be staggered
• Shoes/footwear to be preferably taken off inside own vehicle and must be kept in separate slots for each individual/family by the persons themselves.
• Any shops, stalls, cafeteria etc., outside and within the premises shall follow social distancing norms
• For air-conditioning/ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed which inter alia emphasises that the temperature setting of all air conditioning devices should be in the range of 24-30 degree Celsius.
• Touching of statues/idols / holy books etc. not to be allowed.
• Large gatherings/congregation continue to remain prohibited. 
• Recorded devotional music/songs may be played and choir or singing groups should not be allowed.
• Common prayer mats should be avoided and devotees should bring their own prayer mat, which may take back with them.
• No physical offerings like Prasad/distribution or a sprinkling of holy water, etc.to be allowed inside
• Community kitchens should follow physical distancing norms while preparing and distributing food.
• Frequent cleaning and disinfection of the religious places must be down, with  particular focus on
• lavatories, hand and foot-washing stations/areas.

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