Karaikal shuts its doors on tourists

KARAIKAL: The district administration has appealed to people from abroad not to visit the popular Navagraha temple of Lord Shani in Thirunallar for at least 28 days, as coronavirus has spread globally. The district administration has also limited the number of people to the temple. The temple sees a heavy inflow of people who want to get darshan of Lord Shani and clear the Shani dosh, if any.

District Collector Arjun Sharma said “We request foreigners, NRIs and anyone who has a travel history to places like China, Italy,  Iran, South Korea, and Japan not to visit the temple for 28 days after they land in India. We request people with cough, cold and fever to postpone or skip their visit temporarily.

We request devotees to co-operate with the Karaikal administration.”

The request has come just a day before the Saturday when the temple sees most crowd. Officials said the advisory was inevitable due to the rapid global spread of the pandemic. “We have not restricted people from other States as we believe it is the responsibility of respective governments to advise people against travelling. Health camps near the temple may not be able to help. We request people to take the necessary precautions,” said Sharma.