Rajasthan government has given a green signal for opening of religious places from September 7. The government has asked them to ensure adequate social distancing and sanitization facilities in view of the COVID19 situation. The temples will reopen after seven months. This is part of the latest unlock provisions announced by the government.
The smaller temples have decided to open and have assured the government about maintaining adequate protection and will make provisions for adequate sanitization. They have also decided that they would ensure safety measures like limited entry.
However, the larger temples have decided that they would not open to the public till the pandemic situation gets better. This is because they expect a heavy rush when they reopen. The management of these temples has said that they would not open temples till they complete trials for safety protocols have been done. “We will not open the temple on September 7. The Moti Dungri Temple is highly revered and its devotees are in huge numbers. We are in the process of working out the detailed plan to ensure social distancing and sanitization. We have ordered sanitization machines from Hyderabad and they will soon arrive. It has been decided to do a mock run for the safety system we will set up and after that we hope to open the temple for the devotees on September 18,” said Mahant Kailash Sharma of the revered Moti Dungri Ganesh Temple in Jaipur. The temple has however been using technology to maintain connection with its devotees all through the COVID19 pandemic period. It had also provided live darshan links all through the Ganpati festival.
At the same time there is scepticism among many in the medical fraternity at the decision to reopen temples, “This is an incorrect decision. The rising numbers indicate that another lockdown should be imposed. This is not the time to create more spaces for people to interact and transmit infection. This is the time to stay safe and stay at home,” said Dr Lila Vyas, senior gynaecologist.
The number of cases are constantly on the rise in Rajasthan. The state now has 85379 positive cases. The number of persons testing positive is constantly on the rise and the last seven days have seen the daily tally cross 1500 in a day. Total 1095 people have died.
Earlier the government had on July 1, permitted the opening of temples in rural areas with footfall of less than 50 per day.
