Coronavirus: Dip in devotees at Chamundi Hill temple; Mysuru Palace not affected

A dip in the number of devotees was observed at religious centres, including Chamundeshwari temple, atop the Chamundi Hill in the city, following the covid-19 scare.

Popular pilgrimage shrines like Tirupati Temple Devaswom Board, Sabarimala temple and Thrissur temple boards are requesting the devotees to stay away, if they have symptoms of cold and flu, however, in Mysuru the people are keeping away voluntarily. The Chamundeshwari temple saw a slight decline in the number of devotees since a couple of days.

It may be mentioned that Ganapati Sachchidananda Ashrama has restricted the entry of people to Shukavana, Bonsai Garden and Vishwam Museum, till further notice.

Mysuru Palace

However, the number of tourists visiting the Mysuru Palace has not been affected so far. The number of visitors to the Palace from March 1, up to March 8, was 52,074. The footfall on March 8, Sunday, was 10,913, which includes 9,189 adults, 321 foreigners, 1,040 students and 363 children.

The total number of people visiting the Palace in January 2020 was 3,48,070 and in February, it was 2,15,456, according to Palace Board authorities.

Bird-flu scare

Besides, bird-flu scare has hit Mysuru, with a few birds dying near water bodies. It has added to the fear of the spread of avian influenza or bird flu. The fear has kept the officials of all departments on their toes, who have taken all measures to ensure safety.

Six herons and around 10 fowls have died in the last one week, in Mysuu. The carcass of the birds have been sent for testing to a laboratory in Bengaluru.

The Mysuru Zoo has taken all precautionary methods, like sprinkling of disinfectants at the aviary of the zoo and also at Karanji Lake. They are closely monitoring the birds at Lingambudhi Lake, Kukkarahalli Lake and other lakes. No death of bird is reported in the zoo, so far.

The neighbouring state of Kerala first reported the outbreak of bird flu. There are also rumours that poultry farmers have buried hundreds of birds in parts of Karnataka, which is yet to be ascertained.

Summer holidays

With summer ahead and the possibilities of advancing the annual holidays, the parents are in a fix. Most of them have cancelled their tour plans, to both domestic and foreign destinations.

It is a blow to the tourism sector. They are facing a huge problem of managing their children, during holidays, when they are away at work. They are even hesitating to send their wards to summer camps this year and hope the crisis would fade away in another month.