MANDYA: While the government is fretting over a
second wave of
Covid-19 infections, several popular muzrai
temples in the district witnessed a huge surge in
footfall at the weekend and on Monday and temple authorities dispensed with the bother of enforcing safety protocols such as
social distancing.
There were long queues of devotees at
Sri Yoga Narasinha and
Sri Cheluvanarayana and other temples in
Melukote on Monday and none bothered with the practice of social distancing.
An official of Sri Cheluvanarayana temple admitted to safety lapses and attributed it to the huge rush of devotees and lack of manpower to enforce protocol. He also said it is impossible to enforce social distancing in some temples.
“If we are to implement social distancing, then the length of queues would have stretched one or two kilometers from the sanctum sanctorum and devotees would have had to be turned away,” the official said. “Also, we cannot enforce these rules because we don’t have the manpower. Devotees should be aware of the consequences and they must follow protocols.”
Dr Dhananjay, special officer to the health minister, said people must follow safety rules and ensure Covid-19 appropriate behaviour if a second wave is to be avoided.