New Delhi: As Saturday marked the beginning of Sharad Navratri, devotees queued up at the Jhandewalan and Kalka Ji temples, dedicated to the Mother Goddess, in Delhi to offer prayers like every year.
This year, however, with several COVID-19 protocols. Both the temple managements have issued guidelines that involve strict adherence to social distancing and sanitisation norms.
"Only four people from a family are allowed to come together at a time inside the temple. Devotees above 60 years of age are not allowed to enter the temple. Masks are an absolute compulsion," according to Jhandewalan Temple guidelines for Navratri celebrations amid the pandemic.
One of the major rules will be that this time, no offerings will be accepted in the temple.
Ravindra Goyal from Jhandewalan Temple trust said they have made different arrangements for the devotees. "People will have to pass through two sanitisation channels and their body temperature will be checked twice too. At the same time, we have made marks for social distancing within the temple premise. We have also arranged six chariots with the idols of Goddess Durga to be displayed for devotees far and wide," Goyal said.