CHENNAI: Places of worship, though kept out of the ambit of the lockdown announced by the State government, are devoid of footfall. Only a handful of devotees were seen in important temples, churches mosques across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.
Thermal screening was done for visitors to the Brihadeeswara temple, Tiruvannamalai ArunachaleswararTemple beginning from Tuesday.
The footfall in Srirangam Ranganatha Swamy temple declined in a drastic manner. In Madurai, Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal, has been shut down till March 31, and there is a dip in the number of people visiting Meenakshi Amman Temple.
Similarly, footfall at Vellore Golden Temple has reduced. Meanwhile, the priests of Shrine Basilica in Velankanni altered the traditional practice followed for Holy Communion, as they are giving the bread in the hands of the devotees instead of feeding them. Vedanthangal bird sanctuary, Vellore Fort and Vivekananda Rock in Kanniyakumari have been shut down.
Thermal scanning at Thanjai Big Temple
Thanjavur: Thermal screening of visitors to the Brihadeeswara temple began on Tuesday. Health workers with handheld devices have been stationed at Keralanthakan vayil to screen devotees for fever and cold. Collector M Govinda Rao said people with COVID-19 symptoms would be admitted to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital. Dr I Ravindran, Deputy Director of Health said 50 hand held thermal scanners would be procured for use across the district..