Twin temple towns account for 2% of total cases in state

RANCHI: Two districts of Jharkhand’s Santhal division, Deoghar and Dumka, which hit headlines following rising demand for opening the famous ancient temples of Baba Baidyanath Dham and Basukinath Dham in the upcoming month of Shravana, have so far reported only two per cent of the state’s total Covid-19 cases.

As on June 30, the state’s total count of Covid-19 cases was 2,490, including 1,884 recoveries and 15 deaths.

While Deoghar, where Baba Baidyanath Dham temple is located, has recorded 44 cases, Dumka, which is known for the Basukinath Dham shrine, has reported only eight cases so far. The two adjoining districts have currently 18 active cases (Deoghar has 14 and Dumka has four) altogether.

Santhal division, which comprises six districts of the state’s north-eastern part, has fairly checked the spread of the pandemic as only 132 cases, accounting for five per cent of the total cases, have been reported from this region. Of these 132 cases, only 33 are active.

The aforesaid two districts catch global attention during the

Hindu month of Shravana when millions of people, from across the country and abroad, visit the two Shiva shrines situated at a distance of 60 km from each other.

While the Centre, under Unlock-1 relaxations, had allowed opening of religious places from June 8, the Jharkhand government had not lowered its guard and extended the lockdown till July 31.

Clarifying its stand before the Jharkhand high court (HC) on Tuesday, the state government had said that it was not in the favour of holding the Shravani Mela.

However, BJP’s Godda parliamentarian NishiKant Dubey, who has filed a PIL in the HC, seeking an order to open the two temples with certain restrictions, citing the Supreme Court’s recent order which allowed Puri’s Rath Yatra with certain restrictions.

Clarifying the Centre’s stand, assistant solicitor general Rajiv Sinha said, “The ground reality in holding Shravani Mela in Deoghar and Rath Yatra in Puri is quite different. While the former is a one-month affair, the latter is a one-day affair.” The HC fixed July 3 to pronounce its decision on the issue.