Khairatabad Ganesha continues to attract thousands of devotees each day despite the fact that there is a growing danger of fast spreading COVID-19.
Whether it is 60 feet or nine feet, the size of the idol doesn’t matter for the devotees who are surging to have a glimpse of the iconic elephant god. Hyderabad police deployed at the mega pandal have had a tough time as thousands of devotees started thronging the venue without any regard for maintaining physical distance and other COVID-19 protocol. At least 3,000 devotees had darshan of the lord on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, a clash erupted between Bajrang Dal supporters and the police, who were busy dispersing the devotees. However, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee maintains that they decided not to allow people for the idol darshan, but cannot turn away those who have come from a long distance. “We have appealed to the public to take due precaution during the pandemic situation protection, as Ganesha darshan and pooja is also available online,” Utsav Committee convenor, Sandeep Raj told The Hindu .
“People have a choice. They can have online darshan or they can come in person and have blessings. Keeping the norms of COVID-19 we are providing sanitizers, ensuring physical distance and have installed thermal guns to check the body temperature,” he said.
Published - August 23, 2020 09:43 pm IST
