RESTAURANTS, RELIGIOUS PLACES REOPEN IN UP
All religious places thrown open for devotees with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines
LUCKNOW : Places of worship, shopping malls, restaurants and hotels reopened in most districts in the state on Monday as part of Unlock-1, marking the start of the three-phase plan to lift curbs in a graded manner in the country. While in Lucknow, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and several other districts the places of worship were thrown open to public, albeit under Covid-19 guidelines, Varanasi and Agra district administrations put the reopening on hold until they oversaw the preparedness at such places. When it came to re-opening of shopping malls and restaurants, Lucknow outdid all other cities in the state. Most other districts --especially Meerut, Agra, Varanasi, Prayagraj -- went slow.
LUCKNOW: Day-1 of the reopening of places of worship on Monday witnessed a large number of devotees making a beeline to temples, mosques, gurudwaras and churches in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, including the state capital. In Lucknow, all religious places were thrown open for devotees after about two-and-a-half months. And they came in good numbers to have darshan of Lord Shiva at the 300-year-old Mankameshwar temple.
Police and volunteers were present in sizeable numbers to ensure social distancing between the devotees. No one was allowed to touch idols, no prasad was given and no one came out of the temple with a ‘teeka’ on his/her forehead.
More than five people were not allowed inside the temple at a time. All the bells of temples were taken out on Sunday itself to check spread of coronavirus through touch.
Vivek Tewari , a devotee who was one of the first ones to arrive for darshan, said , “I came here at 4.30 am. Before me there were only two more devotees who performed darshan. Today I am feeling complete after darshan of Lord Shiva. However, I was not able to offer milk or prasad but I understand all this has been stopped to protect us.”
Nishtha Kumari, a resident of Golaganj, who came to have darshan of Lord Shiva in the morning, said, “I am so happy to be here. Visiting the temple gives me peace.” Mahant Divya Giri of Mankameshwar temple said, “Devotees started coming to temple from 4 am but we opened it for darshan at 5 am. They maintained discipline themselves and stood inside the circles marked for them.”
“We had already placed standies with dos and don’ts . Prasad was not allowed, besides all devotees were asked to take off their shoes inside their vehicles by our volunteers,” she said. Similarly in front of Hanuman Setu temple, half of the road towards the University side was covered with tent. “Darshan from university side would be possible only through channel gate,” said Diwakar Tripathi, member of the temple management committee.
Meanwhile, only limited number of people were allowed entry inside the Aishbagh Eidgah mosque for offering namaz. Mohammad Mushtaq, a resident of Aishbagh, said, “After so many days I offered namaz inside the mosque with the jaamat but with social distancing. We will get used to it soon.”
Meanwhile, Arif Khan, a resident of old city who came for namaz at Aishbagh mosque said, “I have brought my mat and cap with me for namaz. I was refused admission as I didn’t bring it earlier with me.” Chairman Islamic Centre of India and Imam Eidgah Aishbagh Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali said, “Social distancing was ensured and everyone was given sanitiser at the entrance.”
Meanwhile, a limited number of devotees came to historic Naka Gurudwara, where they sat at a distance of 6 feet with each other.
President, Lucknow Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Rajendra Singh Bagga, said, “Gurudwaras are following all norms of the district administration.” The churches have, meanwhile, told the district administration that they cannot open for Sunday worship with a limit of just 5 persons, as directed by the government. So the online live streaming of worship service will continue for another month until more people can attend Sunday service.
However, on weekdays, as in any case very few people come to church, the prayer room, under the main church, was opened from Monday onwards. “Entry will be limited to about 5 people for the time being,” said Father Donald D’Souza of Cathedral church.
Meanwhile, a number of people visited Hazratganj’s Hanuman temple, Sandohan Devi temple, Hanuman temple in Aminabad and temples in Charbagh and Rakabganj, on Monday.
MORE THAN FIVE PEOPLE WERE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE TEMPLE AT A TIME. ALL THE BELLS OF TEMPLES WERE TAKEN OUT ON SUNDAY ITSELF TO CHECK SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS THROUGH TOUCH.