Curbs lifted, pilgrims allowed puja in Kangra temples after 2 years

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, April 2

As the Navratra festival started today, it is for the first time after the outbreak of Covid-19 that pilgrims will be allowed to perform puja, ‘yajnas’ and organise community kitchens in temples without any restrictions.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner, who is also Commissioner, Temples, said all Covid restrictions, barring wearing of mask, had been lifted. The pilgrims arriving in the district would be allowed restriction-free entry into temples and they shall be free to perform rituals in temples, he added.

HEAVY RUSH OF TOURISTS EXPECTED

• In the past two years, thousands of pilgrims coming from Punjab, Haryana and UP were returned from state borders for failing to produce vaccination certificates or negative RT-PCR reports.
• The district administration is expecting thousands of pilgrims from adjoining states during Navratras this time.

In the past two years, thousands of pilgrims coming from Punjab, Haryana and UP were returned from state borders for failing to produce vaccination certificates or negative RT-PCR reports. So, the district administration is expecting thousands of pilgrims from adjoining states during Navratras.

Kangra district has three famous temples of Jwalamukhi, Mata Brajeshwari Devi and Chamunda Mata. During the Navratras, the maximum pilgrims visit the Jwalamukhi temple.

The restriction-free entry to the shrines has come as a welcome news for a large numbers of traders, who have their establishments around these. Their livelihood has also taken a beating in the past two years.

Rajiv Sharma, who owns a shop near the Jwalamukhi temple, said his business had been severely hit as very few pilgrims visited the shrines in the past two years. “Now that restrictions have been lifted, we are expecting pilgrims to throng the temples,” he added.

The lifting of Covid restrictions just before the Navratras has also given hope to the tourism industry in the Kangra region. The hotel industry is expecting business to pick up as many pilgrims coming to the temples might stay back for a longer period.

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