Religious Sites In Bhubaneswar Can Only Allow Entry To Fully Vaccinated People, Check BMC Notice

All religious institutions under the jurisdiction of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation should allow entry into the shrines to those devotees who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the BMC said in a circular on Tuesday. The BMC order comes just a day after all places of religious importance were permitted to reopen for the public in the Capital city.

With the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) predicting outbreak of the third wave of the pandemic anytime between September and October in its high-level report to the PMO recently, the Odisha government is learnt to have asked the authorities to maintain utmost vigil in all aspects.

Considering the current pandemic situation and vaccination coverage it is hereby decided that the person who has been fully vaccinated will only be allowed inside any religious institutions like Temple/Mosque/Church/Gurudwara etc, the BMC said in its notification.

This condition is over and above all other stipulations mentioned in the aforementioned guideline. All religious institution authorities have been asked to ensure this at their level during the functioning of their institutions. A person producing the hard copy of soft copy in mobile will be enough for allowing him/her inside the institutions.

The BMC has said that its enforcement teams will conduct frequent checks to ensure the adherence of the guidelines mentioned above as well as issued vide the earlier order.

Any institutions found to be violating these provisions will be viewed seriously and the concerned religious sites will not be allowed to function, the BMC said in its notification.