The Sabarimala Temple in Kerala has opened its door for pilgrims. The temple will remain open for five days from July 17 to 21. It is for the five-day traditional ‘masapooja’ during the Malayalam month ‘Kakkidakam’. But the devotees will have to follow the COVID-19 protocol. From wearing masks to social distancing.
The temple, opened for the off seasonal monthly pooja, would be closed after five days on July 21. ‘Neyyabhishekam’, ‘Udayasthamana pooja’, ‘Kalasabhishekam’ and ‘Padi pooja’ would be performed during the course of the monthly pooja.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Entry to Sabarimala temple will be for those who have received either two doses of vaccine or have a negative RT-PCR test report within 72 hours. A maximum of 5,000 people will be allowed through the virtual queue system daily during the ‘masapooja’.”
The state government has also eased lockdown curbs on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in view of Bakri Eid which falls on July 21.
Kerala is one of the worst-hit states by the second wave of the Covid-19. Kerala logged 13,750 new COVID-19 cases and 130 deaths on Friday, taking the infection count to 31,30,833 and the death toll to 15,155. Among the districts, Kozhikode reported the highest number of cases–1,782, followed by Malappuram 1,763 and Thrissur 1,558.
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