Staggered hours, QR codes and 1,000 devotees a day

The temples of Maharashtra will reopen from tomorrow and the famous Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai will allow devotees to enter after undergoing mandatory checks.

After several protests and criticism from the BJP opponent, Uddhav Thackeray has allowed the reopening of religious sites that had been closed for almost eight months.

Starting Monday, 1,000 devotees will be allowed in. Siddhivinayak Temple in a staggered time interval. However, the slot will need to be reserved through a mobile phone app.

Every hour, 100 people will be allowed inside the temple, except during the ‘aarti’ and ‘puja’ rituals.

Interestingly, the access barrier will open only if a visiting devotee wears a mask and the body temperature is normal.

President Aadesh Bandekar said Siddhivinayak Temple Trust has prepared a mobile application through which devotees can book their darshan appointments.

“Devotees will need to fill out their details and book an appointment, after which a QR code will be generated with a time interval. QR codes will be generated for 1,000 people during the day,” he said.

On the other hand, to visit the Sai temple of Shirdi, tokens will be given to the locals, while devotees coming from outside of Shirdi will need to obtain a pass online.

However, children under the age of ten and people over the age of 65 will not be able to visit.