Entry of devotees to 14 major temples in the State has been banned from Friday till March 31 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This follows a directive from the State government. However, pujas will be conducted as per schedule.
The list of temples includes Meenakshiamman temple in Madurai, Subramanyaswamy temple in Tiruchendur, Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameshwaram, Palaniandavar temple, Sri Ranganathar temple in Srirangam, Mariamman temple in Samayapuram, Thyagarajaswamy temple in Thiruvarur, Sthanumalayan temple in Suchindram, Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai, Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram and Subramanyaswamy temple in Tiruttani.
In the city, devotees will not be allowed into Sri Parthasarathy Perumal temple, Vadapalaniandavar temple in Vadapalani and Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore.
Meanwhile, Kapaleeswarar temple has decided to postpone the famous Arubathimoovar festival to be held on April 5. During the festival, lakhs of devotees and visitors flock the locality. It is conducted as part of the temple’s Panguni Peru Vizha that will commence on March 28 with the puja to the grama devathai .
However, due to government’s advisory on COVID-19 to avoid big crowds, the temple administration has decided to shift the festival to a later date. “It can be held in the Tamil month of Chithrai too. A fresh date will be decided later,” said an official in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. Other temples too have postponed or downsized festivals to avoid crowds during the celebrations. The administration of the Marundeeswarar Temple in Thiruvanmiyur is mulling over postponing its Panguni Thiruvizha . The festival, which draws large crowds, was planned from March 28 with puja to Sri Selliamman, until April 11.
