Temple tanks shut, people perform rituals on streets

Temple tanks shut, people perform rituals on streets

Covid Norms Go For A Toss On Mahalaya Amavasya

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:07.10.2021

Covid-19 regulations went for a toss on Wednesday as people thronged streets around temples tanks in the city to perform rituals for departed souls on the occasion of Mahalaya Amavasya. This led to largescale crowding and several people were spotted without face masks. The Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR & CE) department had shut all temple tanks to avoid such crowding and possible spread of Covid-19.

When asked about the crowding and lack of enforcement of Covid-19 guidelines, the HR&CE department and Greater Chennai Corporation blamed each other.

At Vadapalani, the street leading to Vadapalani Andavar Temple entrance was packed. People performed rituals in groups seated on the road and were seen jostling for space as crowd swelled later in the morning. The ‘kariya mandapam’ managed by the temple ran out of space.

At Mylapore, Kapaleeswarar temple tank was out of bounds for the public and some mandapams, where the rituals were usually performed, remained inaccessible due to Covid-19 restrictions. People used the space around the tank here as well.

Similar was the case in the neighbouring Chengalpet and Tiruvallur districts. A few temples such as the Kandaswamy temple at Tiruporur on OMR and the Veeraraghava Perumal Temple at Tiruvallur remained closed to devotees and people crowded the streets around the temple tanks to perform rituals there as well.

When contacted, sources in the HR & CE department said it was the responsibility of the corporation to act if the rituals were performed on the streets, outside the temple tank.

An official source with the Greater Chennai Corporation said penalty was levied on some people near the Vadapalani temple for flouting Covid-19 norms. “But then, why was the ‘kariya mandapam’ belonging to Vadapalani Andavar temple crowded?” was the official’s reply to HR&CE reaction.

DEADLY MOVE: State’s precautions of shutting temples for Mahalaya Amavasya went to waste as people stood jostling for space on the street leading to Vadapalani Andavar Temple on Wednesday. They performed rituals for departed souls without masks and social distancing