Religious places which were closed in Maharashtra since March because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, have now been reopened with devotees offering prayers from today at some of the well-known temples and shrines in the state, reported PTI.

The decision to reopen places of worship coincides with the Diwali ‘Padwa’, which is an important festival for the people of Maharashtra.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had said that all religious places comprising temples, shrines, churches, darghas, etc in the state will be allowed to reopen for devotees with the safety protocols from November 16.

Early in the morning, devotees were seen visiting Lord Vitthal’s temple at Pandharpur in Satara, Saibaba’s shrine in Shirdi, Goddess Tulja Bhavani’s temple in Osmanabad, Saibaba’s shrine in Shirdi, and the prominent Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai.

The Siddhivinayak temple’s chairman Aadesh Bandekar on Sunday informed that only 1,000 devotees will be allowed inside the temple every day at different time slots to avoid mass gatherings. Online bookings will take place through a mobile phone application.

Also Read | MP Sanjay Raut says reopening places of worship not anybody’s victory

According to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the state government, religious places located out of COVID-19 containment zones have been permitted to reopen as per the timings set by authorities, and devotees will be allowed inside in a staggered manner which will be decided on the size of the structure and ventilation.

Workers at places of worship will have to undergo pre-joining and weekly novel coronavirus tests for highly exposed groups, it said.

It also added that only asymptomatic people will be allowed inside places of worship and wearing of face mask is mandatory for devotees. Management of such places will have to practice thermal scanning and make available hand wash or sanitisers.

Floors at places of worship should be cleaned numerous times effectively in a day, and community kitchens and ‘langars’ should follow physical distancing, the guidelines said.

It mentioned that footwear should be preferably taken off inside vehicles prior to entering temples. Adding, touching of statues, holy books, idols is not allowed.

The opposition BJP in the state had been demanding reopening of the places of worship. Earlier, they also staged protests and raised questions on the Thackeray government’s decision to not reopen temples at a time when bars were allowed to reopen.

However, CM Thackeray had defended his decision stating it was cumbersome to follow physical distancing at the places of worship.

The issue had also led a face-off between Thackeray and state Governor B S Koshyari, who reminded the Shiv Sena president of his Hindutva credentials and asked if he had turned secular.

Koshyari’s letter to the chief minister was slammed by constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

“If we follow discipline, we will get God’s blessings,” Thackeray had said.