A temple volunteer sanitises the idol in New Delhi on Monday. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)
With phase I of the unlockdown kicking in from today, religious places, shopping malls and restaurants reopened after a gap of over two months.
While a steady stream of devotees thronged temples to offer prayers across the country, metros like Delhi and Mumbai witnessed severe traffic congestion on roads in some places.
A look at the top developments:
* As the national capital reopened its borders for inter-state movement after a week, the Delhi-Noida Direct Flyway this morning witnessed massive traffic snarls. Several videos circulated on social media showed long queues of vehicles crawling at snail’s pace.
#WATCH Traffic congestion seen on Delhi Noida Direct (DND) Flyway. #UNLOCK1 pic.twitter.com/4LFjxyNTTk
— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2020
* The Mumbai Traffic Police also faced a similar situation as private offices opened with partial strength. As part of its ‘Mission Begin Again’, the state government has allowed private offices to operate with up to 10 per cent of their strength with the rest of working from home. Severe congestion was seen along the Western Expressway Highway as employees returned to their work places.
Mumbai: Heavy traffic jam seen on Western Expressway Highway. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/43ov1KKUgI
— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2020
* Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was among several devotees who arrived to offer prayers at Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur as the government allowed the reopening of religious places.
* At the Golden Temple, volunteers could be seen sanitising the area at regular intervals. SPGC president Gobind Singh Longowal has urged the Punjab Government to review its guidelines regarding the distribution of langar, on grounds that it was an “inseparable tradition of the Sikh religion”.
A priest sanitises a temple in New Delhi on Monday. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)
* At a local temple in Amritsar, a priest told news agency ANI that all guidelines were being followed as per the Centre’s orders. While a team of doctors were seated outside the premises, patients underwent thermal screening before entering the premises. No sweets will be distributed, they said.
* An ISKCON temple in Ahmedabad resorted to token system to allow devotees inside. “Of the four gates, only two of them have been opened to devotees. Only 25 people are allowed inside. If the tokens are over, then the others can accordingly wait for their turn,” a priest told news agency ANI.
* In Delhi, the Shrine of Velankanni in Khan Market was also opened with marks of social distancing for devotees on the floor.