The annual brahmotsavams of Lord Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy temple at Kanipakam near Chittoor, scheduled from August 22 to September 11, will be a low-key affair and will be held in strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, officials said.
Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta and Superintendent of Police S. Senthil Kumar, who reviewed the arrangements for the brahmotsavams at Kanipakam on Saturday, told reporters that the traditional event of gramotsavam would not be performed due to the pandemic, but the rituals would be performed inside the temple premises. On Vinayaka Chavithi Day (August 22), steps would be taken to strictly limit the number of devotees, including the VIPs, to below 4,000.
Officials said that as per COVID-19 guidelines, those aged 60 and above and those below 10 would be discouraged from visiting the temple during the brahmotsavams. Sanitisation and social distancing norms would be given top priority during the brahmotsavams, while random tests would be performed on devotees.
The Kanipakam temple, administered by the Endowments Department, too was affected by COVID-19 when a staff on queue monitoring duty tested positive, forcing authorities to suspend darshan for a couple of days during Unlock 1.0. At present, the temple is witnessing a small number of devotees daily as compared to the thousands of visitors on regular days. The temple also reported a drastic fall in hundi collections.
