The Aluva Sivarathri Manappuram on the banks of the Periyar, which used to teem with hundreds on the occasion of Karkita Vavu Bali, wore a deserted look on Monday, as COVID-19 restrictions forced them to pay obeisance to ancestors by offering rituals at homes.
The Ernakulam district administration and the rural police had issued strict directives against the conduct of rituals at the Aluva Siva Temple in view of the worsening pandemic crisis. They had barricaded the roads leading to the temple, besides warning people against turning up at the banks to take a dip in the river and offer ‘bali’.
“To our knowledge, it is for the first time that the Bali Tharpanam had to be cancelled at the Aluva Mahadeva Temple. It was held even during the floods in 2018,” said Ganeshwaran Potti, administrative officer of the temple.
“However, we had permitted devotees to opt for advance bookings for rituals like Thilahomam and Pithruhomam.
“These were held in the morning, even though the temple was closed for devotees,” he said.
The temple administrators recalled that devotees were not permitted to take dip in the Periyar and offer Bali owing to safety concerns during the 2018 floods.
The restrictions induced by the COVID-19 crisis prompted a few priests to help people by uploading videos on social media platforms on the rituals to be undertaken at their homes.
“I had offered a Facebook live after receiving numerous queries from devotees on the step-by-step performance of rituals,” said a senior priest here.
People were also not permitted to enter other temples in the district, including the Chelamattom Sreekrishna Temple near Perumbavoor, to offer rituals owing to the restrictions.