The Sai Baba temple in Shirdi is all set to reopen from today onwards (November 16, 2020) in Maharashtra after seven months of closure due to the Coronavirus pandemic with strict protocols and only after making a booking online for a specific time slot.
A representative of Shirdi Sai Baba temple management told ANI, “We are glad that the government has allowed us to open after so many months. Devotees who want to visit will have to do online booking to get a time-slot for the `darshan`. Along with this, people will also have to show a COVID-negative RT-PCR result at the gate. Children aged eight to ten won`t be allowed.”
Guidelines:
- People above 65 years of age and children below 10 years will not be allowed.
- Touching of statues, holy books, idols are not allowed and large gatherings continue to remain prohibited.
- The Trust will only allow 6,000 devotees per day and 900 devotees per hour.
- Wearing face masks will be mandatory for every devotee.
- Devotees who want to visit will have to do online booking to get a time-slot.
- People visiting the temple need to show a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR result at the gate.
On Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray declared that the religious places across the state will be allowed to reopen from November 16 onwards.
“We can’t forget that the demon coronavirus is still amongst us. Even though this demon is slowly falling silent now, we cannot be complacent. Citizens need to follow discipline. Just like discipline and restraint were observed while celebrating Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, and Pandharpur wari (annual pilgrimage), followers of other faiths also celebrated festivals like Eid, Mount Mary festival by keeping the COVID-19 safety protocol in mind,” Uddhav Thackeray said.
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