CHANDIGARH: Places of worship opened in Punjab on Monday after 77 days but in defiance of the guidelines issued by the Union government, prasad and langar were served in the Golden Temple and other gurdwaras.
Taking to this correspondent, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal said, "Maryada is not considered complete without serving langar (community kitchen) and deg (prasad). It was being served during the lockdown and nobody complained then as we were taking all the precautions as per guidelines issued by the health department to cook and serve the langar and prasad. We are doing so now also. The ban on langar and prasad must be reviewed.”
"Devotees entering the Golden Temple or any other gurdwara are being properly screened and their hands are being sanitized. Also, wearing of masks is compulsory and social distancing is being followed in letter and spirit," he said.
The Durgiana Temple in Amritsar also defied the guidelines and served prasad to all the devotes visiting it. Though temples and gurdwaras in Punjab and Haryana reopened, very few devotees visited them. People were screened at the entrances and asked to adhere to the social distancing norms.
At gurdwaras across Delhi, religious places were opened and langars were served. Many devotees did 'sewa' and helped in preparing langar.
The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "We are increasing the number of entry and exit points so that people do not come in contact with others and leave the premises after prayers. The gurdwaras will be sanitised after regular intervals. The head scarf given to non-Sikh devotees to cover the head will not be given as a precautionary measure and all devotees have been asked to cover their heads with cloth or handkerchief."
As shopping malls opened on Monday, elaborate security and sanitisation arrangements were put in place outside. A token system was started for entry into these malls.
As per the state health department medical bulletin, the number of cases in Punjab rose to 2663 with 55 more cases reported on Monday. Of these, 2128 have recovered and 53 died. The highest are in Amritsar with 481, followed by Jalandhar with 307, Ludhiana with 251, Tarn Taran with 159, Gurdaspur with 152, Hoshiarpur with 135, Patiala with 138, SAS Nagar with 128, SBS Nagar with 109 and Sangrur with 111. Thus in ten of the 22 districts in the state, the cases are more than 100.
Meanwhile, two residents of Amritsar died of COVID-19 at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). One was a 60-year old resident of Katra Sher Singh who was referred from a private hospital on June 4. He was also suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Another patient, a 78-year-old resident of Sharma Colony, tested positive and was admitted to the government hospital. He also suffered from diabetes.