JOIN USUttar Pradesh villagers turn to gods, superstitions as Covid-19 wreaks havoc
As Covid continued to ravage the villages across Uttar Pradesh, the people have started resorting to superstitious practices to ward off the virus.
According to the reports, people in several UP districts, including Varanasi, Kushinagar and Mau, have been holding 'bhajans' (religious hymns), special pujas and havans (a ritual by fire) at temples to keep Covid at bay.
Reports said that the people, especially the women, have been offering 'dhar' (a mixture prepared with water, flowers and some other articles) at the temples of 'Dih Baba' (local deity) and goddess 'Kali' at several villages in Mau district, about 350 kilometres from here.
"They (people) think that the Baba will check the spread of the virus and will not allow it to enter their villages," said Brahmanand Pandey, a local scribe in Mau.
Special pujas were also organised at the ghats on the Ganga in Varanasi in which dozens of women from the nearby areas have been taking part, reports said.
Scores of women were seen performing special rituals at a temple in Dumri Malav village in the state's Kushinagar district, about 325 kilometres from here, according to the reports.
Incidentally, none of the participants wore masks nor did they follow social distancing while performing the pujas triggering fears of further spread of the virus in the rural areas.
A senior government official in Kushinagar said that he had received information about the pujas and added that stern action would be taken against those found to be spreading misleading information with regards to Covid-19.
Hundreds of people have died in the rural areas in UP after exhibiting Covid-like symptoms of cold and cough and breathlessness in the past few days, though the officials denied it.
The people have also been dumping the dead bodies in the Ganga, Yamuna and others rivers in the state.