Coronavirus: Religious Sites Shut Their Doors As Cases Rise; Vaishno Devi Yatra Suspended From Today

From Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai, to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, the places of religious gathering are closing their doors, as a precautionary measure to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

Image: PTI

New Delhi: As the figure of coronavirus infected cases in India continues to rise, a slew of measures have been taken up to deal with the spread of the deadly contagion. In order to contain the further spread of the pandemic, several places of worship and religious gatherings have been closed for devotees as a precautionary measure to tackle the coronavirus scare. The religiously significant pilgrimage of Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir has been called off, in the face of the unprecedented health crisis. Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, said, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra has been closed from today (Wednesday). Operations of all inter-state buses, both incoming and outgoing from Jammu and Kashmir, are also banned from today. Meanwhile, the 'Ganga Aarti' at the Ghats of Varanasi, which has been a long-followed custom, has also been suspended from Wednesday, to ward off the threat of the virus. The 'Garbhagriha' of Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi has also been made off-limits till March 31.  In Mumbai, the Siddhi Vinayak temple has also been closed from Monday evening. The Shirdi Sai temple was also shut on Tuesday. The government has also advised people to avoid mass gathering, has suspended a number of trains, ordered closure of schools, universities, malls, gyms, cinema halls and historical monuments. On Monday, the Tourism Ministry decided to close all museum and ASI monuments for general public till March 31. Among most popular ASI monuments are one of the world's most visited sites, Taj Mahal, and monuments like Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb among others. The decision comes just minutes after the government on Wednesday issued a fresh comprehensive advisory on social distancing measures in view of the spread of Covid-19 disease.