Less devotees turnout on 2nd Monday of Sawan at Kashi Vishwanath temple

Devotees gathered at Kashi Vishwanath Temple on the second Monday of 'Sawan' month today. However, this is the first time in decades that there is not enough footfall in the shrine due to the coronavirus spread.

"This place used to be jam-packed because of the Shiva devotees, but this time due to coronavirus, not many have come to offer prayers," said Vimal Sinkar, a devotee while speaking to .

"There used to be around 1-2 lakh people here on this occasion. But coronavirus has changed everything," said Dr Manoj Tripathi, another devotee.

Notably, in order to contain the spread of COVID-19, the temple administration has placed barricading so that people can abide by the social distancing norm.

Also, another reason for less crowd at the temple is because the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand have decided to suspend Kawariya Yatra this year in the light of the increases cases of COVID-19.

The month long-yatra that Hindu God Shiva's devotees follow usually begins when Shravan begins, which was on July 23 this year.

( With inputs from ANI )