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Udupi: District Collector G Jagadish has instructed the temple administrators and officials to adhere to the government guidelines to guard against spreading the coronavirus during Navratri, Diwali and other Jatra festivals.

He presided over the preparatory meeting held at his office meeting hall on Wednesday, October 7 on the steps to be taken during the forthcoming Navratri festival, Diwali and other Jatra festivals in the district temples.

Covid-19 infection is spreading day by day. He said that devotees should be allowed to participate in the service by strictly adhering to the guidelines laid down by the government, district and local bodies for disinfection.

Devotees who visit the temples should put a 6 foot wide box mark to maintain social distance. Every devotee should wear a mask. Thermal scanning and hand washing or sanitizer systems should be made mandatory. He said if the backdrop needed more people to come to the festival during the holidays, hence should get the help of the police department, he said.

At the temples, jathra ceremonies such as Brahmatsava and Pavithrotsava are temporarily postponed, and the non-traditional shrines of the temples, priests and staff should be symbolically inserted in order to stop the festivities. Public should be careful on not to gather more crowd, DC said.

Those over the age of 65 advised that persons with multiple illnesses, pregnant women and children under the age of 10 should stay at home, without any need or health concerns, he said.

He said that after the programs around the temples are over, the sanitizer is done at night and the next morning. He advised the public to adopt placards for the public to be aware of the corona and to announce on the loudspeaker of the Covid guidelines.

He said that if the temple has been offering annasantharpane in the past, it can be continued and new ones should be avoided.

He called a meeting of the shop and hotel owners around the temples and instructed them to wear a face mask and to ensure that the public could see the gap in front of the store.

Sub-divisional officers,the Tahsildar  and the Police Department should visit religious places and observe that the government’s Covid control guidelines are being followed. He advised that action should be taken under the law if wrong, he said.

The meeting was attended by Sadashiva Prabhu, Additional District Collector, Tahsildar Sudhakar of the District Religious Endowment Department and other officials of the temples.