There is no visible impact of the COVID-19 scare, at least so far, in Basar in Nirmal district, the abode of goddess Gnana Saraswati. According to officials, there was rush of students in the temple until Sunday which is an usual phenomenon if it is exam time.
“There was no rush today and less number of devotees will arrive even on Tuesday which again is normal for this time of the year,” pointed out an official in the temple management committee. Under normal circumstances about 3,000 devotees visit the temple on normal days and the rush increases to about 10,000 on Fridays and other holidays.
“The number of Aksharabhyasams (initiation of a child to the world of letters) also did not diminish until Sunday. On March 13, we sold as many as 96 Aksharabhyasam tickets of the ₹ 1,000 fee category and 128 tickets of ₹ 100 fee category.
“Similarly, the temple sold 126 tickets in the ₹ 1,000 fee category and 138 tickets in the ₹ 100 fee category. We have to wait for a few days more in order to assess if the COVID-19 scare has any impact on the temple town,” the official added.
The Godavari boatmen, however, say turnout at the ghats has declined. “None of the 40 boatmen who take visitors for rides in the river are touching the ₹ 1,000 per day income mark since the last few days,” asserted Tonduru Poshetti, the president of Basar Gangaputra Sangham.
