Thiruvananthapuram: The Sabarimala temple – with an overwhelming stillness pervading the entire foothills instead of the chants of Saranam Ayyappa – will close on Friday without giving darshan to devotees. The temple administration and the Devasvom Board, which runs it, had asked devotees to stay away as part of the COVID-19 lockdown. The annual festival has similarly been called off – a rare occurrence.
The state government had announced earlier that the Sabarimala temple would be open for pilgrimage on June 14 as the nation announced Unlock 1.0. But stiff opposition from Hindu groups and the BJP had forced a rethink after most places of worship belonging to Christian and Muslim communities voluntarily decided to keep churches and mosques closed in view of the heightened COVID-19 risk.
Similarly, in Guruvayur – the other prominent temple run by the Devaswom Board – it was decided that devotees would be denied access, even after it was initially announced that the famous temple would reopen for public darshan on June 9.
The temple had also announced the reopening of the premises for marriage. It is a favourite marriage venue for the devout, and is subject to a maximum of 60 weddings per day, with the participation of 10 people from both bride and the groom’s side.
But in the same way as Sabarimala, the Devaswom Board made a u-turn and announced that the temple would continue to be out of bounds until at least the end of the month. At that time, the authorities are expected to take a call on whether to extend the restrictions after reviewing the COVID-19 situation.
While some of the other temples re-opened for worship, entry was restricted, with only five worshipers allowed in at any given time. But in view of the increasing threat of community spread of the virus in Kerala amid the influx of people from red zone states as well as heavily affected foreign countries, people have generally stayed away from visiting even the temples that are open.
Most churches and mosques in the state are remaining closed for worshipers as their managements decided to exercise caution to safeguard the lives and health of their devotees. The managements for these places of worship are now expected to take a decision on the reopening at the end of June.
