COVID-19: Hazur Sahib gurdwara, langar at Nanded sealed

The Gurdwara Hazur Sahib at Nanded was on Friday sealed by local authorities after several pilgrims who returned to Punjab after visiting the shrine tested coronavirus positive, officials said.

The Gurdwara Langar Sahib in the premises, which serves food to all visitors, has also been closed, they said.

Hazur Sahib, also known as Takht Hazuri Sahib Sachkhand, is among the holiest Sikh shrines in the country.

At least 115 of the over 3,500 pilgrims who returned from the Nanded gurdwara have tested positive for coronavirus, according to Punjab government figures.

"The gurdwara and langar (community kitchen) have been closed from Friday," the official at Nanded said.

Gurdwara superintendent Gurvinder Singh Wadhwa said, "District and civic officials reached the gurdwara in the morning on Friday and directed that it be closed and the langar service be stopped."

The batch of pilgrims who left from Nanded to Punjab had been tested at the local government hospital for the virus and none showed any symptoms, he said.

The pilgrims had made halts at Indore, one of the country's worst coronavirus-affected cities, Bhilwara and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and Bhatinda in Punjab en route, gurdwara functionaries said.

Baba Balwinder Singh of Langar Sahib said there are some 175 people from different states in the complex.