Ugadi to be a low key affair due to Covid

The month of March involves travel to temples, dargahs and native places for Ugadi but all of it stands cancelled as people have decided to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ugadi is on March 25.

Ugadi is a major festival which involves a large movement of people from cities to their native homes to celebrate. However, this year Covid-19 has forced all of them to celebrate the festival at home.

The marriage of Ram, on the ninth day of Ugadi, celebrated in Bhadrachalm, has no bookings this year. The celestial marriage will be performed by priests in the temple according to the rituals.

Thousands of people congregate at Bhadrachalam during the wedding ceremony but this year people have been told not to come.

Similarly, the closure of temples in Puri

Jagannath, Mangalore and Calicut have left tourists from the city disappointed as they reached there to find them closed.

P. Sudhakar Rao, director of Rao Tours and Travels, says, “March is an off season yet there are senior citizens who opt for travel to pilgrimage spots. Bookings were minimal due to the fear of the virus and now with temples closed, those who have reached there are disappointed. Some of them are having problems returning as airlines has given last minute notice that flights are cancelled on this sector. These groups have to now opt for road or rail travel back to

Hyderabad.”

The tourism industry has seen its worst phase in 2020 and now they are experiencing the shutdown of public places and temples making it more difficult. For the month of May, bookings for Badrinath, Gangotri and Chardham have been made but people are

already calling in demandingrefunds. They are not sure if they want to continue with their plans this season due to the spread and fear of the virus.

Summer holiday bookings in January and February were made at discounted prices but people are keen on refunds as they have to stay home.