NEW DELHI: In view of COVID pandemic, the management committee of Jhandewalan Mandir has taken an innovative measure to minimise footfall at the famous temple in Delhi during the nine-day Navratri celebrations.
It created eight chariots with the idol of the goddess Durga, which will be sent to different neighbourhoods in the national capital daily for nine days starting from October 17 so that devotees get to worship in their localities with safety.
For the first time, the temple has made this arrangement - sending goddess to the threshold of the worshipper, said Kulbhushan Ahuja, secretary of the committee on Friday. "Eight beautiful chariots, carrying replicas of the temple, have been created. They will set out at 6 in the morning every day and return to the temple at night by 9 pm. Given the circumstances (COVID health crisis) in the city, we have taken this initiative to restrict footfall at the temple. We have identified 31 places where the chariots will be sent," said he.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will flag off the chariots on Saturday. "Every day, a dignitary will be present to send the chariots to the city neighbourhood after rituals and prayers in the morning. The committee has also made elaborate arrangements for smooth visit of worshippers according to the government guidelines. The chariot experiment is being done for the time to minimise the number of visitors and facilitate people living in far flung areas," said Ahuja.
Normally 50,000 to one lakh devout would visit the temple during festival season. Footfall would increase on weekends, public holidays and the first or seventh day of Navratri. If the devout wants to make a visit to the temple, they are welcome as the temple is open, said Ravinder Goyal, member of the committee.
He added that the committee will deploy 2,000 volunteers to ensure strict compliance of COVID protocol. "Thermal scanning will be done at the entrance and mask is a must. Sanitizer dispensers have been placed at the entrance and marking has been done to maintain social distancing," Goyal said.