Deoghar covid-free, reopening of Babadham temple on cards

Dumka: Deoghar district on Thursday became Covid-free after two active patients, who returned home from Haryana, were discharged from the hospital after their two successive samples tested negative.
DC Nancy Sahay said, “It is a matter of great relief that the two have been declared cured after their two successive reports turned out to be negative.” The patients, residents of Narangi and Dakai villages under Sarwa block, were admitted to Ma Lalita Hospital in Deoghar on May 2 after they tested positive. A few days back, two other patients from the same block were declared cured. Sahay added, “Deoghar reported four cases so far and all of them are cured. The district is free of Covid-19 at the moment.”
Sahy said the discharged patients have been advised home quarantine for a few days along with social distancing, use of masks, proper sanitisation among other precautionary measures. She said, “I thank the doctors and other staff who attended to these patients and cured them.”
As soon as Deoghar became Covid-free, the district administration started its ground work to assess the possibility of resumption of services at Babadham temple which was shut after the imposition of the lockdown on March 24. The assessment was done keeping in mind Shravani Mela, which draws around 50 lakh visitors in August, to the month-long festivity.
On Wednesday, the district administration also held a mock drill at the temple and adjoining areas, with cops and other officials posing as devotees, to assess the crowd control situation. Deoghar DC Nancy Sahay said, “We are evaluating the situation before sending a formal proposal to the state government to reopen the temple.”
She added, “Shravani Mela is scheduled in August, but amid uncertainty over the coronavirus, we aren’t sure at this moment if it will be held this time. Even if it is held, there will have to be a host of dos and don’ts in place to ensure social and physical distancing. We held the assessment to understand what could be the possible scenario post lockdown.”
Chief minister Hemant Soren is the chairman of the shrine boards of Deoghar and Basukinath temple in Dumka district. On Wednesday’s mock drill, she said, “As per our estimate, around 22,000 devotees will be able to pay offerings to the deity on a daily basis during Shravani Mela.”
Notably, closure of the temple is also a concern for hundreds of people — priests, eateries around the temple, sellers of puja paraphernalia and others — who depend on their day-to-day earnings to eke out their living.