The physical distancing norm went for a toss at Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam in Vemulawada of Rajanna-Sircilla following the arrival of hordes of devotees to offer prayers to the presiding deities on the auspicious Monday.
Though the government had reopened the temple on June 8, the pilgrim rush was very normal and social distancing norms were maintained. On Monday, which is considered auspicious for the presiding deities, the pilgrims rush swelled.
The mandatory thermal screening of pilgrims in queue lines was not done by the temple authorities. The only saving grace was that all the devotees were wearing face masks. Though the government had restricted the entry of devotees above 65 years of age and below 10 years, all age groups had entered the temple. However, the temple authorities ensured that the pilgrims were made to walk through the disinfectant tunnel before entering the temple.
Surprisingly, the queue lines were spread to over 3 km and the devotees took around two to three hours for darshan in spite of ‘laghu darshan’ as the temple had already cancelled all the special rituals and pujas to check the spread of coronavirus.
As there are restrictions on the breaking of coconuts inside the temple, the devotees after darshan were seen crowded in front of the main entrance to break the coconuts as an offering and lighting lamps. Even after police informing them not to break any coconuts, the devotees did not heed to their pleas and participated in the breaking of coconuts in the crowded place.
Local residents are a worried lot over the arrival of hordes of devotees and not following the social distancing norms. Reminding that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam with huge infrastructure and facilities was allowing only 6,000 devotees per day, the Vemulawada temple town without adequate facilities was crowded with over 15,000 devotees on Monday.
The residents flayed the temple authorities for not taking any measures to restrict the devotees. The temple authorities say that the pilgrims’ rush would swell on Tuesday as the devotees would offer ‘Bonalu’ to the Baddi Pochamma temple in Vemulawada.
