Jharkhand: Transgenders, women perform puja to ward off coronavirus

RANCHI: The transgenders in Dhanbad on Friday performed puja to appease ‘Corona Mai’ (Mother Corona) who, they claimed, had appeared in their dreams saying that she will vanish if people start worshipping her.

More than a dozen transgenders gathered to perform a special puja in the open ground here at Jharia in Dhanbad on Friday to ward off coronavirus. They reached the ground chanting religious songs on the streets and appealed people to worship ‘Corona Mai’ if they really want to get rid of her.

“Corona Mai, who had come in my dreams in the form of a cow and gradually turned into a lady saying that if people in India would start worshipping her, she will go from where she has come. Therefore, we performed puja here today to ward off coronavirus from this Country,” said Nirmala Kinner.

Another transgender Bansi Kinner said that there is no other way out to ward off this pandemic and hence, people should please ‘Corona Mai’ by worshipping her.

Meanwhile, women in different parts of the state were seen worshipping ‘Corona Mai’. In Garhwa, more than 250 women gathered on the banks of Baanki River in Bodra village to perform symbolic ‘Chhath’ puja in order to please ‘Corona Mai’ and get rid of hardships they are facing for the last two months.

Interestingly, the women gathered there also brought their bank passbooks and Aadhaar cards with them expecting that money will be transferred to their bank accounts if they succeeded in pleasing the "deity".

“After watching the videos that people are worshipping "Corona Mai", we also decided to perform puja in order to get rid of this pandemic,” said Kanti Devi. The puja will continue till pandemic recedes from here, she added.

Similar incidents were also reported from Namkom and Tatisilwai in Ranchi, Bagbeda in Jamshedpur, Dompara, and Jharia in Dhanbad and some parts of Giridih.