Janmashtami celebrations in Chandigarh to be toned down this time
The poojas, which go on till late at night, will be performed by the priests who stay within the temple premises.
Janmashtami is set to be a subdued affair this time with the usual carnivals missing and temples set to allow only a few people to enter to ensure social distancing amid the pandemic outbreak.
Besides, in view of the night curfew that starts at 10pm, temples in the city will close their doors by 9pm, said BP Arora, president of the Sector 40 temple and chief of the Hindu Parv Mahasabha in the city.
He added, “To ensure distancing, we will allow only a certain number of people within the temple premises at a time. Pre-packaged prasad will be distributed and entry to the Shiv Mandir of temples in the city will not be allowed.”
The poojas, which go on till late at night, will be performed by the priests who stay within the temple premises.
‘EXPECTING ONLY A SMALL TURNOUT’
Shyam Sunder, joint secretary of the Sri Laxmi Narayan Temple in Sector 20, said, “This time, we are expecting only a small turnout. Even during the holy month of ‘Saavan’, nobody came to offer prayers at the temple. With the rise in Covid cases, people are scared to venture out.”
Saurabh, who runs a shop near the three temples in Sector 20, said that their sales are virtually non-existent this time so they are not stocking up anything, not even balloons or toys for kids.
ISKCON TO OFFER DIGITAL DARSHAN
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is likely to keep their gates closed this year and offer digital darshan through the Zoom app.
Nand Maharaj, the head of ISKCON Temple in Sector 36, said, “We get thousands of visitors during Janmashtami and maintaining social distancing won’t be possible. Due to this, we won’t open doors for devotees this time. There are a few people who live inside the temple. They will carry out a pooja, which will be livestreamed and shared among devotees through the Zoom video conferencing app.”
He added that the celebrations will go on for two days, with decorations starting from Monday night itself. “We have asked people to make idols for Krishna and offer him home-cooked sweets to celebrate the festival,” he added.