Goa: Most temples decide to postpone opening

MARGAO: Most temples in Goa are set to remain shut at least till June 30. At a meeting in Mardol on Sunday, representatives of nine major Saraswat temples decided to unanimously postpone their reopening in the light of a spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. According to guidelines issued by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), places of worship are permitted to open on Monday.
“The number of positive cases in Goa has been rising over the past few days,” president of Ramnath Devasthan, Pravas Naik, told TOI. “Under these circumstances, it would only be prudent not to reopen the temples to the public. Thus, they will remain closed till further orders. We will review the situation by June 30.”
President of the Shantadurga Devasthan, Kavlem, Triloknath Borkar, said that the temple’s managing committee met all stakeholders ahead of the Mardol meet and decided not to open. “We took purohits, bhatjis, sevekaris, palkhi bearers and others into confidence,” he said.
CM lauds decision by some temples not to reopen premises to public today
“It was also decided that since Covid-positive cases were detected in the temple’s vicinity, it wasn’t advisable to open the temple to the public.
The decision not to open temples on Monday was lauded by chief minister Pramod Sawant. “If anyone (committee) doesn’t want to open their temple, it is a good decision,” he said.
Apart from the Shantadurga Devasthan and Ramnath Devasthan, the Mardol meet was also attended by representatives of the Mahalsa Devasthan, Mardol, Nagesh Devasthan, Nagueshi, Mahalaxmi Devasthan, Bandora, Devki Krishna Devasthan, Marcel, Kamakshi Devasthan, Shiroda, Ramnath Damodar Devasthan, Zambaulim, and Mangesh Devasthan, Mangeshi.
The meeting also saw a discussion on the standard operating procedure (SOP) laid down by the government on temple reopening. Members said that it would be very difficult to implement these measures within such a short period.
However, not all temples in the state will remain shut. For instance, the Shree Datta Padmanabh Peeth, Tapobhoomi, Kundaim, headed by Brahmeshanandacharya Swami, may reopen on Monday. It had already decided to open in accordance with MHA guidelines.
The Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Betim is also set to open on Monday.
On Sunday, the Archdiocese of Goa and the Association of all Goa Muslim Jamats decided not to open churches and mosques respectively in the state in the light of the spike in cases.