BHOPAL: Over 90 residents of a village in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district got their heads tonsured and held a mass feast at a temple to thank the deity for ensuring "zero fatality" due to COVID-19 in their village in the year 2021.
The ritual was held on Friday to fulfil the vow taken by villagers at the Devnarayan temple when the pandemic was at its peak, a resident said.
Villagers, including women, took out a procession in Devri Khawasa village in the Neemuch district, around 400 km away from Bhopal.
They danced to the tune of religious songs while holding religious flags in their hands.
"About 25-30 villagers were infected when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak. At that time, people had taken a 'Mannat' (vow) in the ancient temple of Devnarayan ji to tonsure their heads and hold a 'bhandara' (mass feast) if no fatality is reported due to the pandemic in 2021," Ambalal Patidar, a villager, told reporters.
Another resident Amit Gurjar said that in a bid to thank the deity, 90 villagers shaved their heads and organised a feast.
"We thanked the deity as no death due to COVID-19 was reported in our village with a population of 2,500 even though some of the infected villagers were critically ill," he claimed.