Vadakkumnathan Temple, Thrissur, and Sreekrishna Temple, Guruvayur, reopened on Tuesday after a break of two-and-a-half months.
A virtual queue system was put in place at the Sreekrishna Temple for darshan. An e-booking facility was also arranged. E-tokens, with date and time, were e-mailed to devotees. Though nearly 300 persons had booked for darshan, only 88 turned up on Tuesday. Tokens have been issued to 153 persons for Wednesday.
Devotees were told to reach the temple half-an-hour before the stipulated time. They maintained a safe distance of two metres from one another. Devotees were allowed to enter the temple through the East Nada after thermal scanning. A medical team too was present. Shops on the temple premises remained open.
The Vadakkumnathan Temple was opened to devotees from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday. Devotees were allowed inside in line with the government’s safety guidelines. Around 200 persons visited the temple in the morning. Meanwhile, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady temples were not opened on Tuesday as the managements felt it was practically difficult to maintain restrictions.
‘Postpone temple reopening’
At the same time, Parameswaran Namboodirippad, the chief priest of Koodalmanikyam temple, Irinjalakuda, gave a letter to the Devaswom administrator, requesting the postponement of the reopening of the temple by two more weeks. In his letter, the priest said since COVID-19 threat existed in Irinjalakuda town, restrictions on devotees should continue.
Earlier, Thrivikraman Adikal, the chief priest of the Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple, too had opposed the reopening of the temple. He also urged devotees to avoid temple visits.
