Monuments, national parks, tourist sites shut
JAIPUR: In a bid to prevent spread of the coronavirus, the state government shut all tourist places and historical monuments including Hawa Mahal, Amer Fort and Jantar Mantar from Wednesday.
Religious leaders too have appealed to people to avoid visiting religious places and offer prayers at home.
Some temples shut their doors to the devotees.
All major monuments and wildlife sanctuaries have also been closed till March 31. Sariska, Jhalana Leopard Safari, Ranthambore, Keoladeo national parks have also been shut.
The state government had on Monday night issued an advisory banning gatherings of more than 50 people at public places.
The coronavirus outbreak has also impacted travel. Several trains and flights have been cancelled. The Mumbai to Jaipur Duronto has been cancelled till March 31 while the Sriganganagar to Ambala Cantt train has also been cancelled.
Air Asia has cancelled its Jaipur-bangkok flight till April 15. It has also cancelled its Jaipur-kuala Lumpur flight. The JaipurDehradun and Jaipur-delhi flights were also cancelled on Tuesday.
The appeal came after a meeting of religious leaders with chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday. Gehlot said the government did not want to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments, but the next two three weeks are crucial in containing the spread of the virus and in view of that people should cooperate. Gehlot also held a meeting with representatives of all political parties and asked them to limit political meetings and programmes.
While the government has also
ordered closure of educational institutions, examinations in colleges and universities are still going on. Narayan Lal Gupta, general secretary of the Rajasthan Universities and Colleges Teachers’ Association, has written to the higher education department urging the government to stop all academic activities. He said students have to travel in buses from villages to reach exam centres as final examinations are being held in colleges and universities. He said the government should act fast.
The Mehendipur Balaji temple in Dausa was the first to close its doors to devotees from Tuesday. Mehendipur Balaji temple trust mahant Kishore Puri said the decision has been taken in public interest. He said priests would continue to offer prayers at the temple.
The Brahma Temple in Pushkar has decided to close till March 31. The Sreenath temple administration in Rajsamand has said that only less than 50 persons will be allowed for darshan and the number of darshans have been reduced from eight to four. The number of darshans at the Ramdeora temple in Jaisalmer have also been curtailed. The Meera temple in Chittorgarh has also shut. The Shreeji, Priyaji and Madan Mohanji temple in Udaipur are also shut. The Ajmer Dargah committee has banned ablutions at the pond inside the dargah.
Tourist visits to border areas in Jaisalmer have also been discontinued. The Army has shut the war museum and has also cancelled the Chaitra Navratra fair held annually at the Tanot Mata temple.