The BJP has been campaigning for temples to reopen in Maharashtra.
Mumbai:
Temples and other places of worship will reopen in Maharashtra starting Monday, the state government said, adding that it will soon issue security measures against coronavirus that will need to follow.
Religious sites have been closed in Maharashtra and most other states since March, but the opposition BJP has mounted a campaign to reopen them, backed by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Last week, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said places of worship will reopen soon when he offered Diwali greetings to the state.
Thackeray also confirmed that schools would resume (for classes 9-12) after Diwali, with safety protocols already in place for this.
The Chief Minister said that he had resisted the reopening of religious sites due to the risk to older people visiting them. Medical experts believe that older people (those over the age of 60) are at higher risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus.
“When will the temples open? They will open soon. After Diwali, we will create POEs for this. Older people visit temples and are at risk (of contracting Covid). Therefore, overcrowding should be avoided … either temples, mosques or anywhere else, “Thackeray said.
The Chief Minister said that although SOPs would be released later, the wearing of face masks when visiting places of worship in the state would be mandatory. He placed particular emphasis on that and warned people that those found without masks would be fined.
“People are criticizing me. I’m ready to face that. I’m wary of older people. If a Covid-positive person doesn’t have a mask, they can infect another 400 … these are figures from doctors,” he said.
The reopening of temples in the state had sparked a bitter dispute between Thackeray and Governor Koshyari early last month; the governor, in a letter full of sarcasm, asked the chief minister if he had “become a layman.”
The Chief Minister replied that his Hindutva did not require a certificate of authenticity and that the government would only make a decision on this matter after “careful consideration”.
The Chief Minister and several other leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, have emphasized the need to minimize contact and maximize social distancing during festivals, to ensure that the virus does not spread.
Maharashtra has recorded more than 17.4 lakh of cases since the pandemic began, with nearly 46,000 of those cases resulting in deaths. However, the number of active cases in the state has dropped to 85,000, and more than 16 lakh people have recovered from the infection.
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