Devotees can visit temples now, but with lot of caution

Devotees can visit temples now, but with lot of caution

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

 Bangalore 06.06.2020

With the virus keeping devotees away from religious places, it’s now time for the muchawaited darshan as restrictions are eased from Monday. Most popular shrines in the country are set to open, albeit with a lot of caution.

The Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain will open its doors on June 8 after being shut for 79 days. But devotees can’t just walk in. They have to book a slot via an app or a toll-free number a day in advance. “Devotees will be allowed to visit the temple between 6.30am and 8.15pm,” said S K Tiwari, assistant administrator of Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee, after a meeting on Friday. They will launch the app and helpline in time for people to start making bookings on Sunday.

However, devotees will not be allowed to attend Bhasmarti ritual or enter the sanctum sanctorum.

The Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala will also reopen on June 8 with unprecedented precautions. There will be a trial run from June 8 for two days in which only Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams employees will be allowed. On June 10, TTD will allow only Tirumala residents. From June 11, devotees from across the country except from containment zones will be allowed. Only 6,000 devotees will be allowed per day with 500 devotees every hour.

Although the UP government will allow religious places to open from June 8, prominent shrines have different plans for unlocking. So while Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi will open on Monday, temple managements in Mathura have said they can't open until they get police protection. In Ayodhya, the famous Hanumangarhi will open on Monday and devotees can also resume darshan of Ram Lalla.

Prayagraj’s Bade Hanuman temple prepares to open Monday

Devotees to be barred from touching idols, holy books

Directions were issued by the state government on Friday that all religious places should have hand sanitizers, thermal scanners and pulse oxymeters at the entrance so that devotees can be scanned for temperature or low oxygen levels.

Nobody will be allowed to touch any idol or religious book inside the place of worship while no prasad will be distributed either.

In Odisha, those wanting to visit the Jagannath temple in Puri will have to wait longer with the temple managing committee proposing to the government to close the 12th century shrine till July 4.In Thrissur in Kerala, while nine marriages were held at the Guruvayur Temple on Friday, the temple is unlikely to be opened for Monday. Temple authorities said they would require more time to make arrangements, including preparation of crowd control plan.

Meanwhile, the Kerala unit of the Indian Medical Association on Friday opposed the opening of places of worship and malls.

Uncertainty also looms over famous annual yatras.

After priests at Badrinath wrote to the Uttarakhand CM to postpone the Chardham yatra for pilgrims till June 30, locals in the area have also called for measures “to keep the Char Dham free of Covid-19.”

Initially, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag districts – which house the four revered shrines – had not reported a single Covid case. But the number has gone up after the migrant labourers began to return.

As uncertainty hovers over the annual Amarnath Yatra, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board performed ‘Pratham Pujan, the first religious ritual. Board CEO said the yatra will be commencing but for a short period as compared to previous years.

Shrines across Maharashtra will not open on June 8. No date has been fixed by the state government either

Tenant turns violent as landlady lodges plaint

Tenant turns violent as landlady lodges plaint

TNN | Jun 5, 2020, 04.01 AM IST

Coimbatore: A video of woman in her 40s brandishing sickle and threatening her 70-year-old landlady went viral on social media on Thursday.

According to police, it was a complaint against her for not paying rent that provoked the tenant, identified as Jaya. She was one of the three people staying at the house that was rented out by Gnanamary, of Kalki Street in Rathinapuri.

An officer said a family of three – two women and a school girl – had approached Gnanamary on January 18, 2020, to rent her house. “The woman agreed to pay a security deposit of Rs 20,000 and a monthly rent of Rs 5,500. While she initially paid the landlady an advance of Rs 10,000, she failed to settle the remaining security deposit amount. She hasn’t also paid any rent so far.”

The woman, the officer said, used to abuse the landlady whenever she approached her for rent. “Finally, the tenant agreed to vacate the house on March 31. But they refused to shift, citing lockdown.”

On Wednesday, Gnanamary, along with her 85-year-old husband Mariyaprakasam, lodged a complaint with the Rathinapuri police against the tenant. When they returned home, Jaya threatened Gnanamary with the sickle. Immediately, the couple contacted the police control room and a team of police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

On Thursday, Gnanamary lodged another complaint with the Rathinapuri police against the tenant

Covid-19 patient arrested for threatening doctors in Salem hospital with knife

Covid-19 patient arrested for threatening doctors in Salem hospital with knife

TNN | Jun 4, 2020, 09.01 PM IST

SALEM: The Salem police in Tamil Nadu arrested a Covid-19 patient on Thursday for threatening doctors and nurses with a knife. He was later lodged in Salem Central Prison.

The patient has been identified as K Matheswaran, 40, of Mettur. He was working as an ambulance driver at Manipal Hospital in Karuppur. He was admitted to Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital (SGMKMCH) for Covid-19 treatment on May 25.

SGMKMCH doctors said on Tuesday Matheswaran threatened duty doctors and nurses by showing a knife and demanded that they discharge him from the hospital. Doctors finally pacified him.

He got discharged from the hospital on Thursday evening. The residential medical officer (RMO) of SGMKMCH Dr Karuna lodged a complaint with out-post police station of the hospital on Thursday evening, based on which Matheswaran was arrested.

After Koyambedu, Ariyalur now faces fresh influx from hotspots

After Koyambedu, Ariyalur now faces fresh influx from hotspots

TNN | Jun 6, 2020, 04.02 AM IST

Trichy: Ariyalur district, which was hit by Covid-19 due to the Koyambedu cluster and recuperating slowly after having discharged 96% of the patients in the past month, is facing yet another challenge from the fresh influx of people returning from hotspots.

In the last two weeks, Ariyalur reported 15 positive cases (9 from Maharashtra, 6 from Chennai and 1 from Gujarat), all returnees from hotspots.

Acknowledging the need to shift focus from Koyambedu to people coming from hotspots, the Ariyalur district administration strengthened the check post bordering Perambalur and Cuddalore districts.

Six institutional quarantine centres were also established to isolate and test them.

“We are focussing on returnees from hotspots in other districts and states, and from abroad. They have to undergo mandatory quarantine for seven days at our quarantine centres,” Ariyalur district collector D Rathna told TOI.

People returning from hotspots like Chennai, Maharashtra and Gujarat were traced based on information shared from the Covid-19 control room.

A group of people returning from Chennai but not showing any symptoms was put under mandatory home quarantine for 14 days.

“People who are stranded at Chennai due to the lockdown are also returning. Since they avail e-pass, we can track them and quarantine,” the collector added.

Even if the returnees test negative, the health department will monitor their condition for seven consecutive days at the quarantine centres. Before discharging them, they will be tested again.

CUTN invites applications for the post of VC

CUTN invites applications for the post of VC

TNN | Jun 6, 2020, 04.06 AM IST

Trichy: The Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Tiruavrur, has invited applications for the post of vice-chancellor. June 16 is the last date to send the filled-in applications.

As the five-year tenure of the incumbent vice-chancellor A P Dash is getting over in August this year, the ministry of human resource and development has initiated the selection process for next vice-chancellor. Distinguished academicians with a minimum of 10 years of experience as professor in a university or 10 years of administrative experience in a reputed research or academic organisation can apply for the post. A committee constituted under the provisions of Central Universities Act, 2009 will shortlist eligible candidates who will be called for an interview. The interview process is most likely to be held online this year as the country is reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic, said officials from CUTN.

Excess passengers refuse to get down, crowd buses

Excess passengers refuse to get down, crowd buses

TNN | Jun 5, 2020, 04.56 AM IST

Tirunelveli: The buses heading from Papanasam, Tenkasi and Tuticorin to Tirunelveli are overcrowded in the morning and return trips in the evening even though the social distancing norms to prevent Covid-19 requires that only 60% seats should be occupied and nobody should be standing in the buses.

TNSTC drivers and conductors are facing the ire as passengers are picking quarrels with them when they ask the excess passengers to get down. “We have requested the superintendent of police of Tirunelveli district on Thursday to help us manage the crowd in select routes,” managing director of TNSTC Tirunelveli, P Thiruvampalam Pillai told TOI.

On Wednesday, buses were too crowded with some even clinging on to footboards. TNSTC officials said that most of the violators are government employees.

A daily commuter from Tenkasi to Tirunelveli said that only six buses were operated during the peak hour in the morning. It includes three point-to-point buses that take 90 to 95 minutes and three regular buses that take 120 minutes to reach the destination. “Frequency of direct buses should be increased,” Kumar, 42, a commuter said.

Pillai said Tirunelveli division operated 451 buses on Tuesday, 579 on Wednesday and 615 on Thursday.

Pvt libraries offer dial-a-book system

Pvt libraries offer dial-a-book system

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:06.06.2020

Next time you drop in a neighbourhood library, the visit may be limited to collecting books reserved for you.

The pandemic has changed the experience of readers associated with private libraries as such institutions are gradually reopening.

Private libraries are beginning to introduce dial-a-book system or reserve-titles-online method whereby a member can call a library and reserve a book or visit the institution’s portal online to reserve a title. Later, the member can pick up the books at counters and need not have to spend more time on library premises. The outbreak of pandemic has brought in new challenges to ensure the safety of readers.

Chennai and its suburbs have 45 leading lending libraries besides several small ones with a collection of titles ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 and active membership of 200 to 400.

R Sasikala of Read n Rejoice, a library at Medavakkam, said a feature to reserve titles would be introduced on their library’s portal. “We already have a catalogue online. Now, our members can reserve their choices on our website and collect them at the library counter,” she said. Books returned will not be circulated for three days as part of safety measures, she added.

Some libraries may still allow members to search titles from racks but trim their timing. P Sathish Kumar, managing director of Easwari Lending Library, said to maintain social distancing only three members are allowed for a span of five minutes to search books at their library branches.

NEW RULES: Sri Raghavendra Library in Triplicane