People exercise caution as religious places reopen in Nagpur

Special arrangements will be made for Ashok Vijaya Dashami on October 15, when people visit Deekshabhoomi in large numbers to pay their respects to Dr Ambedkar.Meanwhile, Reverend Anthony DSouza of SFS Cathedral Nagpur Archdiocese said the Christian community welcomes the decision to reopen places of worship. We will follow all COVID-19 protocols, particularly limiting the number of people in attendance and social distancing, Reverend DSouza said.

As places of worship reopened in Maharashtra on Thursday after remaining shut for nearly six months amid the COVID-19 pandemic, temples, churches and other places did not see a lot of footfalls, as citizens exercised caution on the first day.

Temples, churches and other religious places were thrown open to devotees with all the necessary COVID-19 protocols in place. ''We have not witnessed the kind of rush we used to before. While we are permitting 200 devotees at a time, only 50 to 60 are showing up,'' said Avinash Shegaonkar, the secretary of Shree Sai Baba Seva Mandal, which runs the famous Sai Temple in Nagpur. Two boards have been placed at the entrance and one inside the temple premises urging devotees to follow the COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, sanitisation etc, he said. Thermal screening is being done before permitting devotees to enter the temple premises, Shegaonkar said, adding that only people who have taken both vaccine jabs were allowed entry.

Citizens above 60 years of age and children below 10 years are not permitted, he said.

Speaking to PTI, Sudhir Fulzele, the secretary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Smarak Samiti that runs the 'Deekshabhoomi' said people were now allowed into the premises as per the government's COVID-19 guidelines. Special arrangements will be made for Ashok Vijaya Dashami on October 15, when people visit Deekshabhoomi in large numbers to pay their respects to Dr Ambedkar.

Meanwhile, Reverend Anthony D'Souza of SFS Cathedral Nagpur Archdiocese said the Christian community welcomes the decision to reopen places of worship. ''Churches have remained shut for too long and there has been no physical presence of people. We will follow all COVID-19 protocols, particularly limiting the number of people in attendance and social distancing,'' Reverend D'Souza said.

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