This story is from June 7, 2020

Places of worship gear up to welcome devotees in Karnataka

With many places of worship expected to open their doors from Monday, several religious heads met on Saturday to chart out a plan to follow directives issued by the government to prevent Covid-19 spread.
Places of worship gear up to welcome devotees in Karnataka
The Jain temple in Jayanagar being sanitised
BENGALURU: With many places of worship expected to open their doors from Monday, several religious heads met on Saturday to chart out a plan to follow directives issued by the government to prevent Covid-19 spread.
The state in consultation with religious heads has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for temples, churches and mosques to maintain social distancing among devotees.
Places of worship will open only in non-containment zones. Distribution of prasadam and holy water has been banned, though rituals can be performed with less attendance.
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D Veerendra Heggade, administrator (Dharmadhikari) of Dharmasthala temple, said it will reopen for the public from Monday and will follow directives issued by the government. He said Anna Daana will also resume at Dharmasthala in keeping with the norms.
Srinivas Bhattar, priest at Kote Venkataramana Swamy Temple, said a meeting was convened on Saturday evening to prepare a plan of action.
Syed Shafiullah, secretary, All India Milli Council, Karnataka, said they will open mosques for prayers as per the Centre’s directions. Karnataka State Minorities Commission chairman, Abdul Azeem, had issued the SOP.
Bishops and several heads of churches had met chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday. A member from Church of South India, Karnataka Central Diocese, said, “We are waiting for the SOP, which is supposed to be issued by the bishop. It will cover the directives issued by both the state and Centre to prevent spread of the pandemic.”
Some decide to wait and watch
However, it’s learnt that some places of worship have decided not to open as they want to wait for the pandemic curve to flatten. BK Arshad, secretary, Masjid-e-Ibrahim Hinaya, has decided not to open the mosque from Monday. He said, with Covid-19 numbers increasing by the day, it’s not appropriate to do so. “I also tried to convince other masjid heads but they have decided to go ahead. I consulted epidemiologists, who suggested not to open it right now,” said Arshad.
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