NEW DELHI: Over 800 munuments under the Archaeological Survey of India, including places of worship, can be opened to the public from Monday in accordance with the government’s ‘Unlock 1’ guidelines, the Ministry of Culture said on Sunday.
These are among the 3,691 centrally-protected monuments which were shut down in mid-March amid the pandemic.
“Today, the Culture Ministry has approved the opening of 820 of its living monuments under the ASI from June 8,” Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel tweeted on Sunday,”
Sources said around 65 ASI monuments in Maharashtra are unlikely to be opened in view of a large number of coronavirus cases in the state.
Of the centrally protected monuments, 114 are in north India, 144 in central India, 170 in the west, 279 in the south and 103 in the east. Agra in the north region has 35 living monuments. The Taj Mahal will be closed for visitors.
Besides ASI protected religious places, all other places of worship in the country will also open for public from Monday. Committees and chiefs of several religious places that this newspaper spoke to welcomed the decision and said opening of religious places will help people in dealing with the trauma caused by the pandemic.
President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “Places of worship can do wonders in healing people. In times of crisis, positivity is much required and religious places provide just that. They should not have been shut in the first place.”
Religious leaders however, appealed to people to follow all norms and take all precautions.
Vice-president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Salim Engineer said, “Of course, people should strictly follow all guidelines and protocols while visiting religious places but this was required as religious places provide emotional, psychological and spiritual strength to people which is all the more important in the times of crisis.”
Bishop Warris Masih of Church of North India said churches will open but congregations will remain prohibited.
Monuments to be opened in various states
Of the ASI-protected monuments allowed to open, Karnataka has 153 followed by Uttar Pradesh at 111. While Gujarat has 77 such monuments, Tamil Nadu has 75.
The Qutub archaeological area and Lal Gumbad are some of the ASI monuments in Delhi that will open up from Monday.