Places of worship, hotels and restaurants open for public in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: After about two-and-half months, places of worship, hotels and restaurants opened for the public on Monday in Bengaluru and several parts of Karnataka, with easing of COVID-19 restrictions as per unlock 1.0 norms of the Centre.

As temples opened up with some strict guidelines in place, the number of devotees remained scarce.

Checking of body temperature at the entrance with infrared thermometers, use of hand sanitisers, wearing of masks by devotees and staff and also maintaining social distancing were common sights at temples.

No ”teertha” (holy water) and ”prasad” are being distributed to devotees for now, a temple official said.

The Government has asked people above 65, below 10 years and pregnant women to cooperate by staying at home until further orders, and has banned entry of those who are ill.

Only “darshan” is being allowed, while all kinds of temple fairs and “sevas” have been temporarily barred until further orders. Several temples have also deferred opening for the public.

Though the temples are conducting daily poojas and rituals, they were not open to the public till now, with COVID-19 induced lockdown restrictions in place.

Mosques too have opened, with restrictions. Namaz (prayer) mats and water for ablution are not being provided at the premises.

Several mosque authorities have requested devotees to offer prayers at their homes.

The Archdiocese of Bangalore has already deferred the opening of churches till June 13 to educate the visitors about the new norms to contain coronavirus.

Though hotels and restaurants opened for dining, the number of customers remained scarce in parts of the city on Monday morning.

Only takeaways were allowed at hotels and restaurants all these days. All measures have been taken to maintain social distancing and to follow government guidelines, a restaurant manager said, adding menu cards will not be placed on tables and more digital transactions would be encouraged.

Maintaining hygiene and regular sanitisation will be given importance, he said, adding “we are doing our best.” Though malls have also been given permission to open, few of them have decided to defer it for a few days.

Those opening themsaid all measures would be followed and visitors should have downloaded the Arogya Setu app on their mobile phones.