The famous Shakti shrine of Odisha, the temple of Goddess Samaleswari in Sambalpur is set to reopen for devotees from August 3. The decision comes as a great relief for thousands of devotees and servitors who had been waiting with bated breath for the temple to reopen ever since the State government started unlocking the economic activities from the month of June.
Odisha government on Saturday announced new Covid unlock guidelines for the month of August and clearly mentioned that district administrations have been given authority to decide on reopening of religious places at their level.
A day after the announcement, the district administration of Sambalpur on Saturday declared that all religious sites and places of worship in the district will be allowed to reopen from August 3 with strict adherence to Covid guidelines and some other restrictions in place.
As per the announcement, no religious places will be allowed to open to the public in Covid containment zones. Similarly, every week, all religious places shall remain closed on Mondays to ensure sanitisation and cleaning activities to prevent spread of Covid cases.
For safety reasons, people above 65 years of age, pregnant women, children below 10 years of age have been discouraged from visiting religious places.
The authorities have also highlighted important guidelines to be judiciously followed by the temple authorities as mentioned under.