The Varanasi district authorities have made arrangements for three entry and exit gates for devotees for a jhanki darshan of Lord Shiva, the reigning deity of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, during the Hindu holy month of Shravan, beginning July 5, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, said Deepak Agarwal, divisional commissioner, Varanasi.
The bureaucrat said kanwarias, the saffron-clad Shaivites, have been barred from visiting the temple town during the holy month because of the viral outbreak.
Devotees wouldn’t be allowed to enter the shrine’s sanctum sanctorum and only permitted a jhanki darshan’, he added.
Agarwal shared this information with media persons after holding a meeting with the Kashi Vishwanath Trust authorities, the district, and police administrations regarding the special preparations for the holy month amid the pandemic.
He said that the predetermined routes for the temple’s entry and the exit had been obstructed due to the ongoing construction work of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor.
He instructed the officials to put up a zig-zag barricade from Maidagin crossing to Godaulia and mark prominent circles on the ground to maintain a six-feet social distance for devotees while standing in a queue.
Sanitiser cans would be placed at every 100 metres along the queue, he added.
The temple authorities have been directed to hold a meeting with the members of the Yadav community called Yadav Bandhus and other people regarding tweaking of rules while performing the over two-century-old special puja during the holy month because of the viral outbreak.
In a marked departure from the age-old tradition, only five persons would be allowed to perform the special puja on Shravan Mondays this year instead of the usual group of 100, Agarwal said.
The authorities are also making arrangements for heightened security, uninterrupted power supply, and maintaining cleanliness in and around the ancient shrine during the holy month.
