No compulsion to wear masks at Trimbakeshwar temple

Reports that the Trimbakeshwar Temple Trust has made it mandatory for devotees visiting the Trimbakeshwar temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva near here, to wear masks are not true, an official said on Thursday.

The temple administration has not made it mandatory to wear masks for devotees to enter the temple and take darshan of Lord Trimbakeshwar, Prashant Gaydhani, one of the trustees of Trimbakeshwar Devsthan Trust, said.

"However, it has made an appeal to devotees to take precaution to avoid spread of the coronavirus. We appeal to people to cover their faces with masks or handkerchief if possible. We also tell them not to spit, wash their feet cleanly and maintain cleanliness, Gaydhani said.

Many devotees from across the country and even from abroad visit the temple everyday in large numbers. We cannot make it compulsory for the devotees. Even providing masks to such a large number of devotees is impossible for the temple trust. On the contrary, devotees themselves wear masks voluntarily, he added.

However, the temple trust has made it compulsory for its staff to wear masks as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of the disease, he said.

Meanwhile, a person who arrived here from Dubai four days ago was admitted in the isolation ward created at the Nashik district civil hospital on Thursday, health department sources said.

As he complained of cough and cold he was admitted to the hospital immediately. His throat swab samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune for examination, they said.

Earlier, three persons who had come from Italy, Iran and the US, were admitted to the hospital but as their test reports were negative, they have been discharged, the sources said.

However, they will be under observation for 14 days and their medical check-up will be done regularly, they said.