In a major move, the famed 'celestial wedding' (Sita-Rama Kalyanam) at the Bhadrachalam temple in Telangana is going to be conducted in a simple manner on the eve of Rama Navami on April 2, owing to the ongoing fears surrounding COVID-19 (coronavirus).
A decision to limit devotees and conduct the grand festival in a simple manner was taken by the Telangana government. A select group of priests will conduct the prayers and rituals which will be broadcast live across several TV channels and on the internet, authorities said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Puvvada Ajay said, "The event will take place, but we hope that the people will understand and avoid large gatherings. Our request is that devotees should not visit the temple during the festival and instead watch the proceedings on TV itself."
"There will be no hindrance to the ritual, but we are making arrangements to make sure that public health safety measures are followed," he added.
Those who had already bought their tickets for darshan would be given a full refund, the Transport Minister assured.
As the annual festival sees thousands of devotees, the state government said that it was following guidelines issued by the Centre and international organisations, to avoid large public gatherings.
Special buses that are earmarked each year to allow devotees to visit Bhadrachalam were also cancelled.
Last week, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao ordered the shutdown of public places, cinema halls, pubs, bars, swimming pools, museums, indoor and outdoor stadiums till March 21, while educational institutions were asked to shut until March 31, as a safety measure to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
So far, Telangana has seen five positive cases of coronavirus, which includes two foreign nationals. One Indian national from Hyderabad was given treatment and discharged, leaving the state with four active cases at present.
Read: