Mumbai: Though the Maharashtra Government has allowed reopening places of worship from Monday, Shri Siddhivinayak Trust has decided to allow only 100 people to seek the blessing of Lord Ganesha.
Mumbai's iconic Siddhivinayak Temple is one of the most revered places in Mumbai for devotees. The trust has come out with a list of SOPs (Standard Operation Procedure) for the safety of devotees.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, Aadesh Bandekar, chairman of Shree Siddhivinayak Temple Trust, which is controlled by Maharashtra government, said that the temple will be reopened for devotees from Monday.
As lakhs of devotees are eager to take ‘darshan’ of Siddhivinayak, therefore, crowding should be avoided in the temple. The booking of darshan will be done through a dedicated app Shree Siddhivinayak Temple, he said.
“The devotees need to take an appointment through the app, where a QR code would be generated. The devotees need to come to temple on the given time and scan the QR code. Thermal screening and masks are mandatory for devotees visiting the temple,” Mr. Bandekar added.
He told The Asian Age, “After taking the stock of the situation, the numbers of the devotees would be increased in a day or two days.”
According to the temple authorities, devotees without mobile phones can also book darshan by generating a QR code at designated counters at the temple.
After the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in March, religious places and prayer halls including temples were closed down in Maharashtra. The Opposition BJP had mounted a pressure on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to reopen temples.
