Authorities say they have received no official communication about the sanctuaries being opened to the public.
Mumbai:
The government of Maharashtra has yet to make a decision on opening religious places for state worshipers as part of the release of solitary confinement, an official said on Sunday.
The Union’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MHA) said last week that “ Unlock-1 ” will be launched from June 8, under which the national lock, applied on March 25, will be relaxed in a large measure, including the opening of shopping centers, restaurants and religious places, although strict restrictions will be in place until June 30 in the country.
The MHA also asked the Union Ministry of Health to issue standard operating procedures for these sectors after consulting other ministries, departments and other stakeholders in order to ensure social distancing and contain the spread of the COVID-19.
However, the government of Maharashtra, while extending the closing period last week until June 30, has decided to keep the religious places closed for an additional period, and no new decision has been made on this matter.
“It has not yet been decided to open temples, mosques, churches and other religious establishments to people. So far, it has not been decided to allow people to assemble in such places, “Rajendra Bhagwat, legal and judicial secretary of Maharashtra, told PTI.
The authorities of some prominent temples in Maharashtra also said that they had received no official communication authorizing the opening of shrines to the faithful.
Contacted, Adesh Bandekar, president of the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust in Mumbai, told PTI: “We have received no communication from the state regarding the opening of the temple. A meeting of the temple council is scheduled for this week to come up.”
“The trust will announce its decision once the state government has issued new guidelines. We are currently creating facilities to maintain social distance once the faithful are allowed to visit the temple,” he said. .
Bandekar said that from now on the priests are following their routine and performing rituals at the temple, which is one of Mumbai’s most popular shrines and attracts hundreds of visitors on normal days.
Authorities from the Pune-based Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust and the Vitthal Rukmini Samiti Temple in Pandharpur (in the Solapur district) also said they had received no communications to open religious places to the public.
The Dagdusheth Halwai Ganesh temple in Pune is very popular among people and attracts over a million worshipers each year.
The Vitthal Rukmini temple in Pandharpur attracts more than two crore worshipers in a year. During the Hindu month of Ashaadh, lakhs of “ warkaris ” and other pilgrims from all over the state go to the temple.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
