Siddhivinayak, Tulja Bhavani temples closed
Amid threats of coronavirus pandemic, major shrines in Madhya Pradesh on Monday barred entry of devotees to their sanctum sanctorum.
The authorities of the famed Mahakal temple in district headquarters of Ujjain issued a directive to the devotees not to gather in one place inside the shrine and stop entering its sanctum sanctorum.
The restrictions would remain in force till March 31, the authorities said.
Similarly, other ancient shrines in Madhya Pradesh such the Ram temple in Orchha also imposed similar restrictions for the devotees as a preventive measure to check the spread of coronavirus infection.
In another development, the state government on Monday ordered closure of all spas and cinema halls in the state till March 31.
Earlier, all the schools, both private and government, were declared closed till March 31 in view of outbreak of corona virus in some parts of the country.
However, annual examinations of class five and class eight and board examinations of class ten and class twelve have resumed.
The state government has opened 50 quarantine centers across the state to admit the suspected corona virus affected people.
The state government has also ordered the authorities of both state and central jails in MP to train the inmates to make masks for their supply to different hospitals in the state.
MP has so far not reported any corona positive case.
In similar developments, as Maharashtra has registered the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases in the country, the state government has been forced to undertake unprecedented preventive measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The authorities have decided to close some prominent tourist and religious attractions including the worldfamous Ajanta and Ellora caves near Aurangabad, the popular Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai and the Tulja Bhavani temple in Osmanabad.
In addition, Mantralaya and Raj Bhavan tour for citizens has been suspended till March 31.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in a review meeting on Monday asked district collectors to ensure there is no crowding at religious sites like temples, mosques, churches etc, though worship there may continue.
He has also directed that political events, meetings etc should not take place. He said foreign tours have been banned and gram panchayat and other local body meetings have been postponed.
In Aurangabad, several historical sites including the world famous Ajanta and Ellora Caves will be shut from Thursday.
The other sites that have been put under lockdown are the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad Caves, Daulatabad (Devgiri) Fort, all of which attracts robust tourist footfalls, including foreign nationals.
“All monuments in Aurangabad under the Archaeological Survey of India and Maharashtra government will remain closed from March 19 to April 7. Tourists who have been allowed to visit these sites over the next two days have already been screened by the ASI,” said collector Uday Choudhari.
Entry restrictions to Mantralaya, the state secretariat, which sees thousands of visitors daily, will also be in force, health minister Rajesh Tope said.