Temples, malls in Telangana reopen after prolonged lockdown

More than two months after the nationwide lockdown was put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus, people on Monday offered prayers in Temple as the government has allowed reopening of religious places from today. Shopping malls were also reopened with strict COVID-19 precautionary measures.

Hyderabad:Temples and shopping malls reopened in Telangana on Monday after prolonged lockdown, with strict COVID-19 precautionary measures like wearing of masks and maintaining social distance put in place.

The temples reopened for 'darshan' of devotees, but special pujas are not being performed, official sources said. Famous shrines, including the Lord Venkateswara temple in Hyderabad, Sri Rama temple at Bhadrachalam and Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri were among those which reopened.

The devotees were allowed entry only after thermal screening and mandatory wearing of face masks. Circles were drawn at some temples for the purpose of maintaining social distance. The state government had earlier allowed 'religious places/places of worship for the public, along with hotels, restaurants and shopping malls from Monday in areas outside Containment Zones, though lockdown is in force till June 30.

However, the Standard Operating Procedures as prescribed by the government from time to time are to be followed. When contacted, the Central shopping mall, a customer care executive said all three malls in the city have reopened.

Sources in the Hyderabad metro rail said all the four malls along its route were reopened for the public. Hyderabad metro rail is a PPP project run by infra major L&T. "The crowd was moderate and mostly women. They were looking at buying cosmetics and garments," sources at one of the malls said.

A senior official of Inorbit mall at Madhapur said the the shopping centre has reopened.

(PTI)

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