The advisory issued by the State government to remain indoors and the strict enforcement by the district administration to combat COVID-19 led to a near bandh-like situation in places including Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur and Ranipet.
While buses could fill only half its capacity, schools, colleges, cinema halls and malls remained closed on Tuesday.
Railway stations in Katpadi and Arakkonam were frequented by commuters and many working in private companies and establishments took their regular trains as usual.
A police contingent was posted at the entrance of the Vellore Fort, a major tourist attraction in the region. The gates of the fort remained closed with tight police security.
Devotees to the Sri Jalagandeswarar Temple were denied entry as the Fort maintenance falls under the ambit of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which issued orders banning visitors inside the Fort premises. The Government Museum and the Jalagandeswarar Temple are the two major places attracting crowd confluence which have been made inaccessible by the government advisory.
Temple employees including priests were allowed inside the premises and they performed the rituals as usual, said a temple spokesperson. It would continue in the comings days too, he said. A number of shops located inside the Fort were asked to shut down. The Forest and Police department officials, staff with identity cards were let in. The devotees to Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai were screened by the health department officials for symptoms of any infection.
On any given day, this temple receives over 2,000 devotees and the figures would be in lakhs during festival days. However, the crowd has significantly dwindled after the district administration placed restrictions on travel, faced with the contagion.
