PRAYAGRAJ: With few hours left for the beginning of
Chaitra Navaratra and given the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, management committees of the city‘s prominent temples have mandated that only devotees with face masks will be allowed to participate in the Chaitra Navaratri puja, to be organised at Mata Kalyani Devi, Maa Alopi Devi Shakti Peeth and Maa Lalita Devi temple premises between April 13 and 21.
Temple committees have also made special arrangements for live darshan on the pages of its social networking sites and via a group named, “Maa Kalyani Bhaktjan group” on Facebook.
In the times of Covid, this will prove helpful for the devotees. Besides, city police have also geared
up to ensure strict compliance with Covid-19 protocol and have issued guidelines for the same.
Chief priest, Maa Kalyani Devi temple, Pt. Shyam Ji Pathak told TOI that “We would ensure that the devotees standing in the queue must keep a distance of at least two yards between each other and are wearing a mask. He added that as a preventive measure, devotees will not be allowed to assemble in groups and roam aimlessly in the temple premises.”
Pathak further informed that the management committee would depute volunteers that devotees coming to the temple should stand on circles being drawn on the temple floors and they would be allowed to enter into the temple on their turn only.
He, however, made it clear that no cultural programmes, Katha (religious discourses) and Bhandara will be organised. Pathak, meanwhile, said that devotees can bring prasad and flowers from outside shops to offer goddess.
The temple management committees have also decided to sanitize the temple premises within short intervals and posters and boards creating Covid awareness have also been installed on temple premises.
Priests said that the facility of sanitisers must be provided at every 50 meters on the temple premises.
Moreover, devotees in neighbouring districts or towns would be preferred to take darshan and aarti of the goddess through online mode.
A senior police official said that social distancing would be strictly maintained at the temple and no one without a mask would be allowed to enter into temples.