Coronavirus: Businesses at Varanasi ghats hit hard due to poor footfall

increasing Coronavirus scare has led to poor footfall at Varanasi 'ghats' of Uttar Pradesh hitting small businesses hard, and leaving nearly 50,000 families affected.

"Coronavirus has a major impact on footfall at ghats. re is a drastic decline in visit of devotees. Due to fear of Coronavirus, only a few hundred people are visiting ghats se days," said Brahmanand Rai, a local trader.

On regular days, se Varanasi ghats used to be swarmed with foreign and domestic tourists, but ever since Coronavirus outbreak in UP, footfall has reduced drastically. Sailors, florists, photographers, barbers, small eatery owners are all suffering a big loss as numbers of visitors went down. 

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Face Mask On Lord Vishwanath's Idol 

Amid Coronavirus outbreak across globe, a temple priest in Varanasi has put face masks on deities, appealing  devotees to t touch idols. According to priest, Krishna Anand Pandey, he has put a mask on Lord Vishwanath to raise awareness about deadly virus. 

Speaking to news ncy, ANI, he said, "Just like we put clos on idols when it is cold and put ACs or fans when it's hot, we have put masks on deities. We are urging people t to touch idols to prevent spread of virus. If people touch idol, virus will spread and more people will get infected."

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Along with it,  priest and devotees at temple were seen offering prayers wearing face masks.

As of March 15, Uttar Pradesh has reported 12 confirmed cases of deadly Coronavirus. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that UP government has taken every possible step to contain spread of Coronavirus pandemic. As many as 115 cases of COVID-19, including 17 foreign nationals, have been confirmed across India and two deaths were reported due to pandemic. 

READ | Varanasi Priest Puts Face Mask On Lord Vishwanath's Idol To Raise Awareness About COVID-19

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