Bihar: Religious places, malls set to reopen

PATNA: The state home department on Sunday issued an order for reopening of religious places, hotels, restaurants, malls and shopping complexes from Monday as per the directive issued by Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on May 30.
Additional chief secretary (home) Amir Subhani has asked the DGP, heads of all departments, divisional commissioners and district magistrates to ensure proper implementation of MHA guidelines for reopening of such places.
However, cinema halls inside malls, children play area and gaming arcades will remain closed till further orders. Large congregation will not be allowed at religious places and malls.
Patna SSP Upendra Kumar Sharma said action would be taken against those found guilty of violating the MHA guidelines.
Precautionary measures are being taken at all religious places to keep Covid-19 at bay.
Mahavir Mandir Trust secretary Kishore Kunal said the temple management committee has fixed time slots for ‘darshan’. “Those whose names start with A,B,C,D and E will visit the temple on Sunday, the ones with F,G,H,I and J on Monday, K,L,M,N and O on Wednesday, P,Q,R,S and T on Thursday and U,V,W,X,Y and Z on Friday. The temple will be open to public from 6am to 9pm,” he said, adding the online delivery of ‘naivedyam’ will also begin from Monday.
Maulana Shibli Al Quasmi, general manager of Imarat-e-Shariah, an Islamic religious body, which has its jurisdiction over Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, has asked the administration of mosques to remove mats, curtains and sanitise the floor after each prayer services.
Takhat Shri Harmandir Gurudwara Committee’s secretary M S Dhillon said additional measures were being taken to regulate the crowds from Monday. “Even though our langar halls are quite huge, we have decided to maintain a distance of few feets in between two devotees,” he said.
As far as churches are concerned, not all will reopen on Monday. The Bishop House, St Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral Church and Queen of the Apostles church will remain closed.
The hospitality sector, however, is not so amused with the reopening of hotels and restaurants as expenses of these establishments would increase to ensure social distancing and implement safety measures.
Mohd Ziaullah Khan, owner of two private hotels on Bailey Road, said the additional expanses of sanitisation would result in financial losses for them.
A senior official of a private hotel on Exhibition Road said, “We paid salary to all our employees even during the lockdown. It was a huge loss for us.”
Gaurav Jha, who runs a restaurant on Boring Canal Road said, “Our top priority now is finding an efficient way of protecting the customers and maintaining regular workflow. We will figure out how we are going to make up for the financial losses which we incurred during the lockdown.”
Meanwhile, foodies are eager to visit their eateries with family, relatives and friends. Ankush Kumar, a resident of Patliputra, said, “I learned to cook several dishes during the lockdown. However, I am looking forward to eating non-veg food at restaurants after they reopen.”