WEB DESK
The Hindu New Year and the Chaitra Navratra started from today. For the first time in history when cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi is closed for devotees in Navratri.
There will be all the rituals and worship of Navratri in the temples but there will not be anyone to see them. Due to Coronavirus, all the temples of the Jammu Division are currently closed for the common people, only the priests are getting entry into the temples. In such a situation, neither outsiders will be able to see Chaitra Navratri, nor can they participate in any event of the temple.
Local said that now are making prayers from Home as the town is under lockdown, with the hope that Almighty God and Mata Rani will rescue the people from the Coronavirus.
Moreover, Ugadi festival is celebrated at low key in Karnataka due to the lockdown imposed due to the Pandemic COVID-19. Vegetable and fruit markets wore a deserted look with only a few stepping out of the house. People and vehicle were stopped from moving around by police across the state.
Primary Education Minister Suresh Kumar and Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya have assured people that essential commodities will be available and there should not be any panic buying. The municipal corporation officials are making announcements on streets for public to maintain distance and wash hands regularly. A few villages in the state were seen blocking the entry roads to prevent outsiders from entering their village to prevent transmission of virus.
In a tweet the Health minister B Sriramulu has informed that a COVID 19 positive person, a 75 year old person who had returned from Mecca and house quarantined a few days back has died in Bengaluru yesterday night. The person was suffering from diabetes and chest pain. The cause of death will be declared after the test results.
People in Maharashtra are celebrating Gudi Padva, the new year celebrations at their homes in a low key fashion. AIR correspondent reports that amid lockdown, Marathi speakers are today celebrating the first day of the Maharashtrian new year called Gudi Padwa in their homes. It is probably for the first time, the festival is celebrated on such a low key and indoors because of the Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown across the country.
People, however, erected the Gudi which is garlanded with flowers, mango and neem leaves, topped with upturned silver or copper vessel in their balconies and outside their houses. Maharashtra Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray while wishing the people on Gudi Padwa said under no circumstance supply of essential commodities will be stopped.
He said there are sufficient medicines and food stock for animals available. He once again appealed the employers of various private companies not to cut the salaries of their employees who are unable to report to work.
