Places of worship reopen, but no crowds

Even though temple managements had taken all precautionary measures for a safe darshan, only a few visitors were seen at Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangapatna, Cheluvanarayana Swami temple Melkote, Bhoo Varahaswamy temple in KR Pet and other Muzrai temples in Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts. Similarly, the number of people were less at mosques and churches.

The places of worship were opened for public on Monday, after 86 days of lockdown, due to Covid 19-pandemic.

The devotees, who visited Melkote temple, offered prayers to the deity. However, priests at the temple were unhappy as the officials did not give permission to keep ‘arathi’ plate, citing government norms.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna taluk also reopened for visitors after almost three months. But, only a few persons visited the bird sanctuary. There was lukewarm response on the reopening day. However, the officials hope that the number of visitors would pick up in coming days.

Malekal Tirupati temple in Arsikere, Hassan district, Biligiri Ranganathaswamy temple and Himavad Gopalaswamy temple in Chamarajanagar district too received less crowd on day one. However, Male Mahadeshwara Hill temple saw a good number of devotees. The temple managements had ensured total sanitisation of the premises and had made all arrangements for a safe darshan.

However, Tipu’s tomb in Srirangapatna taluk will be open for visitors after June 15, as per the instructions of the Archaeological Survey of India. Along with this, Masjid-e-Aqsa, Gumbad-e-Shahi, opposite Tipu’s tomb will also be open after June 15, according to a press release from Hazrat Tipu Wakf Estate, Srirangapatna.

Wildlife safari resumed at Bandipur Tiger Reserve and BRT Range on Monday, but only a few persons visited, according to the officials.