COVID-19 Unlock 1.0: Maharashtra govt yet to take decision on opening religious places in state

The Maharashtra government is yet to take a decision on opening religious places for devotees in the state as part of lockdown relaxations, an official said on Sunday.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last week said ''Unlock-1'' will be initiated from June 8 under which the nationwide lockdown, enforced on March 25, will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will be in place till June 30 in the country.

However, the Maharashtra government, while last week extending the lockdown period till June 30, decided to keep religious places closed for some more period, and no fresh decision has been taken on it.

"A decision is yet to be taken on opening temples, mosques, churches and other religious establishments for people. There has been no decision so far on allowing people to gather at such places, Maharashtra''s law and judiciary department secretary Rajendra Bhagwat said.

Authorities of some prominent temples in Maharashtra also said they have not received any official communication on allowing shrines to be opened for devotees.

When contacted, Adesh Bandekar, chairman of the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust in Mumbai said, We have not received any communication from the state regarding opening of the temple. A meeting of the temple board is scheduled in the coming week."

"The trust will announce its decision once the state government issues fresh directives. We are currently creating facilities for maintaining social distancing once devotees are allowed to visit the temple," he said.

Authorities of the Pune-based Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust and Vitthal Rukmini Temple Samiti in Pandharpur (in Solapur district) also said they have not received any communication for opening the religious places for public.