Kerala: Sabarimala Temple to reopen from June 14, 50 people to be allowed at a time

As a part of the Centre's 'Unlock 1' which has allowed reopening of religious places in the first phase, the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala is set to reopen from June 14 for devotees and for the monthly rituals and festivals. The temple will be open for the five-day monthly rituals in the Malayalam month of Midhunom that commences on June 14. 

Meanwhile, for the Sabarimala festival from June 19 to June 28, a virtual queue system has been set up in which 200 people will be allowed to register within an hour. To avoid crowding, 50 devotees will be allowed to be present in front of the temple. The devotees will be scanned before entering the premises, while the use of masks/face covers has been mandated along with regular sanitation drives. 

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Devasom Minister Kadakampally Surendran informed ANI that the administration has made two slots for the temple visit - 4 am to 1 pm and 4 pm to 11 pm. No accommodation will be provided to the devotees in Sabarimala. Moreover, those devotees coming from other states will have to provide an ICMR lab certificate proving that they haven't been infected with Coronavirus. The temple has also capped the maximum number of visitors in a day to 600 and a batch of 50 people, allowed at a time, will be given only 15 minutes to remain on the premises. 

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Health Ministry issues SOP

Ahead of religious places of worship opening up on June 8, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), on Thursday, issued SOP for the same. The Ministry has advised persons over 65 years, pregnant women, and children under 10 to stay at home. It added that religious places in containment zones were not allowed to open and must remain shut. Entrance must have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) and thermal screening provisions and only asymptomatic persons must be allowed and entry must be staggered, the SOP further advised. Here is the full SOP issued

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(With ANI Inputs)