As Kerala set to reopen temples from June 9, Travancore Devaswom Board proposes guidelines for devotees
Travancore Devaswom Board President N Vasu on Saturday devotees can be allowed in the temples with certain restrictions while praising the state government's decision to reopen the temples.
Sabarimala temple | Photo Credit: PTI
Key Highlights
- Places of worship have been shut since March 25
- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said places of religious worship in Kerala, will start functioning from June 9
- So far, Kerala has reported 1588 coronavirus cases and 14 deaths due to the infection
Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala is set to reopen temples from June 9, Travancore Devaswom Board has proposed certain guidelines for the devotees.
Travancore Devaswom Board President N Vasu on Saturday said that devotees can be allowed in the temples with certain restrictions while praising the state government's decision to reopen religious places.
"We welcome the government's decision of reopening the temples however we have suggested to stick to the rules of social distancing. We had a discussion with Chief Minister yesterday. We suggested that devotees can be allowed subject to certain restrictions. We proposed that in temples other than Sabarimala the maximum numbers of devotees that can be allowed at a time is 10," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
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He further said that all the devotees should wear masks and children below 10 and people above 65 years shouldn't be allowed.
"There should be a facility for sanitisation. All devotees should wear masks. There won't be any 'Annadanam', we can't allow the usual way of giving 'Prasadam'," Vasu added.
Kerala lifts restrictions on religious places
On Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that places of worship, shrines, shopping malls, hotels, hospitality units, restaurants and offices in Kerala will be open to the public from June 9.
Places of worship have been shut since March 25 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first announced nationwide lockdown across the country to contain the spread of coronavirus.
These places can open on June 8 for cleaning and disinfecting, and make arrangements to receive the public from the next day.
"The Kerala government has decided to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Central government to open up these places," Vijayan said.
"Use of masks, handwashing with soap, use of sanitizers, wherever possible; maintaining six feet distance, thermal checking of temperature, maintenance of registers, and separate entry and exit points are some of the general guidelines mentioned in the SOP issued by the central government," he said.
COVID-19 cases in Kerala
So far, Kerala has reported 1588 coronavirus cases and 14 deaths due to the infection. The state recorded the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases on Friday as it reported 111 new cases.