Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam has issued an advisory to devotees to avoid visiting the temple until the COVID-19 fear subsides.
The temple Executive Officer M.V. Suresh Babu, in a statement on Monday, said that devotees from faraway places were requested to postpone their pilgrimage plans.
He advised those below 10 years of age and above 60 years to defer their plans to visit the temple for the next three weeks. Devotees should avoid bringing children and aged people along with them for darshan. Those participating in arjita sevas may take adequate measures, he said.
The EO said that the temple premises was being sanitised at regular intervals. Fogging, bleaching, anti-bacterial liquid spray etc. were being done. The queue lines were being cleaned with a disinfectant. Sodium hypochlorite hand wash was made available for devotees, he said.
Foreigners barred at Annavaram temple
Kakinada Staff Reporter adds:
Imposing a similar age restriction for entry of devotees for three weeks, the Annavaram temple authorities (SVVS Devasthanam), in an advisory on Monday, barred foreigners and the devotees scheduled to arrive from foreign countries from visiting the temple.
Speaking to The Hindu, temple superintendent (Main Temple wing) Anakapalli Prasad said, “Devotees coming from foreign countries have been advised to postpone their visit to the temple for now and the regulation will be in force until further orders from the State government. However, no foreign devotee is being allowed to visit the temple from Sunday.”
“We are attempting our best to monitor the crowd to prevent any possible spread of coronavirus by adopting all the precautionary measures, despite the lack of medical equipment for screening the visitors for the virus,” added Mr. Prasad.
A large number of devotees from across the country and many settled abroad come to the temple daily, mostly to perform the Satyanarayana Vratam.
