Officials at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple say that despite fair warnings sounded out to travellers, there is a minimum of 10,000 devotees visiting the temple. However, there have been a few or no international visitors, The Hindu has reported.

Officials say there has been a drop in the number of visitors at major temples in Madurai, with guidelines set by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to ensure restricted entry into temples due to corona virus.

Officials at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple say that despite fair warnings sounded out to travellers, there is a minimum of 10,000 devotees visiting the temple. However, there have been a few or no international visitors.

Usually the streets around the temple witness a huge number of pilgrims and tourists. But on Tuesday only there were only a few people moved around.

C. Ramarathinam, a bangle salesman inside the temple, points out that March is usually a lean period as students appear for board examinations and, hence, families restrict travel during the time. “The spread of news reports about COVID-19, however, is reducing the number of visitors even further. Only a few north Indian tourists continue to visit the temple,” he says.

Joint Commissioner of the temple N. Natarajan says an elaborate meeting was held on Tuesday with officials from the Department of Public Health, who are calling for a minimum of two feet distance between devotees waiting in queue. “We have explicitly stated that priests must avoid any form of touch while providing tulsi and viboothi. Staff, too, must regularly wash their hands,” he lists out.

Besides, several other measures like, disinfectants have been sprayed at the shoe stand, mobile phone deposit area, frisking points and all entrances of the massive temple complex.

However, those posted at vulnerable spots, particularly police officials at the frisking point and those manning the shoe stands, do not wear any masks. Police personnel frisking too do not wear gloves.

At Subramaniaswamy Temple in Tirupparankundram, there has been a significant drop in the number of devotees, says Munusu Senthil, a local resident, whose family has been associated with the shrine for many years. “There are announcements asking devotees to leave as soon as they finish darshan,” he says.

However, the temple has not made any stipulation on the distance to be maintgained between devotees.
At Alagar Koil, display boards have been kept informing devotees about the viral outbreak, according to Deputy Commissioner (in-charge) T. Anitha. “We have also asked the priests to gently communicate to devotees on giving or taking any offerings,” she says.

Vinod Patel, a tourist from Sangli in Maharashtra, is touring south India with two bus loads of passengers.
Standing outside the Meenakshi temple, he says he has visited Gokarna, Shimoga, Chamundi hills, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Ooty and Madurai till date.

His large group plans to visit Rameswaram, Kanniyakumari and Sabarimala if permitted. “We were not tested at any spot,” Mr. Patel points out.

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