A hundred devotees will be allowed every hour and up to 1000 devotees can visit the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai every day starting Monday, said Aadesh Bandekar, chairman of the temple trust, according to ANI.

For the ease of the devotees, they can now download Temple’s app, fill in the required information and make prior online bookings.

The news comes a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the places of religious worship across the state that were shut since the COVID-19 lockdown will be reopening from Monday.

In a statement on Saturday, Thackeray extended greetings for Diwali and said, “We can’t forget that the demon coronavirus is still amongst us. Even though this demon is slowly falling silent now, we cannot be complacent. Citizens need to follow discipline.”

According to Thackeray, despite the religious places of worship being shut down during the pandemic, God was taking care of all devotees in the form of doctors, nurses and other health staff.

He said that rules and protocols should be strictly followed from Diwali Padwa that falls on Monday. He said, “Crowding will have to be avoided. The reopening of religious places is not a government order, but the wish of the Almighty. Shoes will have to be kept outside the premises and wearing masks is mandatory. If we follow discipline, we will get God’s blessings.”

ANI quoted Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil saying, “The decision has come at the right time when the number of corona patients is low. The rules will be the same for all the religious places. The use of masks, sanitizers would be mandatory. Social distancing is very important.”

The opposition BJP has been repeatedly targeting him for keeping the places of worship shut even as the ‘Unlock’ process began in June. Thackeray has defended his decision saying it was difficult to follow physical distancing at the places of worship.