Mumbai: Following the Maharashtra government's permission to open all religious places in the state from Diwali Padva several temples including the famous Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai have been opened. For the last three days, devotees have been visiting the temple in peace, following social distancing norms and today marks the third day since the Siddhivinayak Temple opened.
A QR code has been arranged outside the temple, scanning which the devotees get inside. Also, all the temple premises are being sanitized and around 100 devotees are getting admission in one hour. The temple administration has decided to allow 1000 devotees a day. Taking proper precautions against the backdrop of Coronavirus, the devotees are being allowed the darshan of Bappa by following the physical distancing.
Siddhivinayak Mandir Trust President Adesh Bandekar while talking to ETV Bharat said, "the number of devotees for darshan will also increase gradually after seeing the response of devotees."
Pune: Devotees had thronged the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati temple on the first day when the temples were opened from Padva and for the last three days, a steady number of devotees were seen coming from the morning to pay obeisance to Bappa.
Although the crowd of devotees is not the same as what used to be before the lockdown, it is seen that devotees are coming to the temple in significant numbers. Meanwhile, it was also observed that the rules imposed by the government in the wake of Corona are being strictly followed. Precaution is being taken from the queue to the darshan of Bappa.
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The darshan is marked at a distance of six feet in the queue and everyone is stopped at the marked place and then allowed to enter. It is strictly forbidden to offer garlands, flowers and coconuts to Bappa in the temple and the administration is strictly enforcing the rules so that the corona infection does not increase during this period.
The temple administration has decided to unlock the temple in three phases. In the first phase, only devotees will be allowed to enter and visit the temple, in the second phase they can bring flowers, garlands, coconuts, offerings will be allowed and in the third phase, devotees will be allowed to sit in the temple.
Aurangabad: Devotees are observing COVID-19 prevention norms in most of the temples in the district including in the Ghrishneshwar Mandir or Khadkeshwar Mandir. On average, around five thousand devotees visit this temple every day, however, the number of devotees is not what used to be before the pandemic hit us. In the last three days, more than a thousand devotees visited the Ghrishneshwar temple.
Devotees are not allowed inside the temple as the main shrine is closed. The temples in the city are being opened from seven in the morning to nine at night. The temple trustees have taken a stand that the devotees can take darshan only by following the rules.
Rules followed in mosques as well -
The head of the mosque has appealed to the Muslim brothers to follow the rules while praying in the mosque in the city as well. Wearing masks and reciting Namaz, children below the age of ten and senior citizens above the age of sixty are prohibited from entering the mosque. He has appealed to them to recite Namaz at home.
Osmanabad: The Tulja Bhavani temple has also started following different rules. They are maintaining a single queue for devotees, including celebrities and VIPs as a result as soon as the temple opens, there are long queues for darshan in the area. The limit of visiting only 4,000 devotees every day ends in the morning. The number of devotees is increasing day by day.
On the other hand, VIPs are coming for the darshan including MLA Ashutosh Kale and actress Neha Pendse who paid obeisance to the Goddess.
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NCP MLA Ashutosh Kale had come to visit Tulja Bhavani with his son under the age of 10, even though children were not allowed to visit. Actress Neha Pendse visited Devi in the presence of police protection. Even though the darshan pass counter is closed, the administration has made these congregations pay homage to the Goddess, which shows that the administration has discriminated between ordinary devotees and VIP devotees.
Nanded: Before the Corona epidemic and lockdown, 20,000 to 25,000 devotees from home and abroad used to visit the Sachkhand Gurdwara in Nanded every day. At present, seven to eight thousand devotees are coming for Darshan every day. Currently, there are flights from Delhi and Punjab. Railway service has also started. Therefore, a small number of devotees from other states and districts are coming.
About three thousand devotees from outside and four to five thousand devotees from the area are coming and a total of seven to eight thousand devotees are taking darshan. The government decided to start religious places from November 16. All these rules are being followed. Instructions are given for wearing a face mask and using a sanitizer. Gurudwara Board also has an anchor for the devotees, said Ravindra Singh Bungai, Secretary, Gurudwara Board.
Shirdi (Ahmednagar) - Sai Baba's temple in Shirdi was opened for darshan on the morning of November 16 with Kakad Aarti. As many as 24,700 devotees have visited Sai Baba's Samadhi till November 18. Sanitation, thermal screening and arrangements for washing the feet are being made. Also, Sai devotees who have a fever are being admitted to Sai Sansthan's Covid Care Hospital for immediate treatment and treatment.
8,000 Sai devotees are being given the benefit of Darshan in the temple every day. Children under 10 years, pregnant women and persons above 65 years of age, as well as those who do not wear masks, are not allowed to enter the temple, said Kannhuraj Bagate, chief executive officer of the institute. Devotees are coming by booking online passes for Sai Baba's darshan. Also, some of them are being offered darshan by booking offline darshan passes after coming here. Sai Darshan passes are being issued to devotees at the Sai Sai Ashram 1 Sai Baba Bhaktanivasthan (500 rooms), Vdaravati Bhaktanivasthan and Shirdi bus stand. A total of 60 Sai devotees are being admitted for Aarti for each Aarti held in Sai Baba's temple.
Ratnagiri: The Ganpatipule temple in the district was opened to devotees from Monday. The temple administration seems to be abiding by the conditions laid down by the state government. In three days, more than 12,000 devotees have taken darshan. Devotees are also following the rules in the temple premises. However, after going out, whether it is shopping or going for a walk on the sea, devotees and tourists were seen violating the rules. A distance of 5 feet has been kept in the darshan queue so that devotees do not crowd the temple. For this, boxes have been designed for the devotees to stand.
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Everyone's temperature is checked. The VIP Darshan has also been closed. Devotees are being given darshan from 8 am to 12 noon and from 2 pm to 7 pm. The temple is closed from 12 noon to 2 pm and the entire area is disinfected and the temple is opened for darshan from 2 pm to 7 pm. On arrival at the temple, durva, flowers etc are not allowed, instead of packed dry fruits, coconut is allowed if they are packed. The Abhishek is prohibited in the temple at the moment.
