Suri (West Bengal):
Though many famous places of worship in West Bengal have opened their doors to devotees with adequate precautionary measures in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Tarapith temple will take more time to unlock its gates, an official said.
The authorities of the centuries-old shrine have expressed concern over health safety of devotees, amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state, he said.
The state government has granted permission to all places of worship to unbolt their doors to the devotees from June 1, while stressing that safety protocols have to be strictly followed at all shrines.
The Tarapith temple committee had, earlier, announced that it would unlock the doors of the shrine from June 15.
“We have decided not to open the gates from Monday and will monitor the overall situation for some more days. The prevailing condition is not satisfactory as the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise in the state and also in the country,” the temple committee’s secretary Taramoy Mukherjee said.
India saw a jump of over 11,000 novel coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day on Monday, taking the total number of infections to over 3.32 lakh, while the toll rose to 9,520 with 325 more deaths, the Union Health Ministry said.
According to a bulletin, West Bengal registered 389 fresh coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the infection tally to 11,087 in the state.
The Tarapith temple, a Shakti Peeth in Birbhum district, attracts thousands of devotees from different parts of the country every day and remains closed after the nationwide lockdown was enforced in March.
Mukherjee said the authorities of the temple are looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the chief ministers.
“We are waiting to see what decision the government will take regarding the lockdown. The committee has convened a meeting on June 20 to deliberate on the issue,” he said.
Modi will hold the video-conferencing with chief ministers on June 16 and 17.
Meanwhile, prominent temples, gurdwaras, mosques and churches, in keeping with the government guidelines, have thrown open the gates since the beginning of the month, while some religious places have sought time to ensure that all safety protocols were in place, before allowing the devotees inside.
The doors of the renowned 19th century Dakshineswar Kali temple, built by Rani Rashmoni in the northern fringes of Kolkata, have been opened after putting in place all safety measures required to contain the spread of COVID-19, while Kalighat temple is yet to unlock its gates to the devotees.
Belur Math, the global headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, is scheduled to throw open its gates to the devotees from June 15.
