Lukewarm response from devotees as places of worship open doors after 2 months in Chandigarh

A lukewarm response was seen from devotees as religious places in the city opened their doors for the first time since the lockdown was imposed on March 24.

Manager of the Sector-34 gurdwara, Amarjeet Singh, said, “On normal days, we have around 100 devotees here but on Monday, only around 10 persons turned up. The Gugamari temple in Sector 20 also received only a few regulars for their morning pooja.Kishori Lal, a member of the temple’s management committee, said, “We are expecting more people to come on Tuesday to offer prayers to Lord Hanuman but it’s easier to manage a smaller crowd.”

Bishop Ignatius Mascarenhas of the Roman Catholic Church, Shimla and Chandigarh Diocese, said there won’t be any congregations but devotees are welcome to come and offer prayers individually from 7.30am onwards.

Maulana Imran, head of the Manimajra mosque, said, “Today, we read the namaz without the ceremonial dari as a safety precaution against the virus. Around 20 devotees had come in to offer prayers.”

MANSA DEVI TEMPLE OPENS ON TRIAL BASIS

The gates of the Mansa Devi Temple were thrown open on Monday to check the feasibility of online issuance of passes. On Monday, around 400 devotees had registered themselves and till 4pm, around 150 had visited the temple. “The temple will open from Tuesday and around 4,500 persons will be allowed per day.

At Nada Sahib gurdwara, all caution was thrown to wind as devotees were seen roaming around without masks and one person was found offering prasad without wearing any gloves.The gurdwara had not been even closed during lockdown. An official from the gurdwara said: “At any given point, there are 10-20 people inside the gurdwara. We keep making announcements, asking people to maintain social distancing.”