Mysuru (Karnataka): COVID-19 may have unsettled the world but the Buddhist refugee camp in Bylakuppe in Mysuru has to a great extent been able to keep the virus at bay.
There are two Buddhist settlements at Bylakuppe in Periyapatna taluk, set up in 1961 and 1969. Together, they house around 19,000 exiled Tibetans. Interestingly, there is hardly any active COVID-19 case.
Sources said the monasteries inside the settlements were closed soon after the outbreak of the pandemic last year. More than 400 days later, these monasteries continue to remain closed for outsiders. They are, however, open to Tibetan monks and nuns. Wearing masks is mandatory for all.
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Sources from the settlements said they were planning to open the monasteries for the public a few weeks ago, believing that COVID-19 had subsided. However, with the outbreak of the second wave, they decided to keep them shut.
Officials at the settlements said they follow a tradition of drinking hot water as soon as they wake up in the morning and this has greatly helped them in their battle against the pandemic.
In total, there are five Buddhist settlements in Karnataka housing around 37,000 exiled Tibetans. Apart from the two settlements in Bylakuppe, Hunsur in Mysuru, Kollegal in Chamarajanagar and Mundgod in Uttara Kannada districts are the other three.
