Srinagar: Worship places of all faiths on Sunday reopened for the first time after remaining closed since March this year due to COVID-19 pandemic.
However, very less number of devotees visited the shrines, Gurdwaras and Churchus.
The administration has announced to reopen all worship places in the Kashmir valley, where people were urged to adopt Standard Operating Procedure (SOG), wear , masks and keep physical distance during the visit to these places.
A UNI correspondent who visited a number of shrine, including Hazrat Gousul Azam Dastigeer Khanyar, Sheikh Hamzah Mukhdoom Sahib, Naqashband Sahib and Sheikh Abdul Qadeer Jeelani Saraibala.
Less number of devotees were seen offering prayers. The management of these shrines said they have made all arrangements to adopt SOPs and other directives issued by the administration to prevent spread of coronavirus.
A resident told UNI from Charar-e-Sharief that shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Nooruddin Wali remained closed even today also. It was not immediately known if the management of the shrine or the district administration has decided to keep it closed.
Meanwhile, Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid (AAJ) in a statement this evening said the historic Jamia masjid will reopen from Tuesday.
The AAJ said that as the spike in daily number of corona positive cases continues in J&K , So people need to continue to take great precautions and strictly adhere to public health regulations and guidelines laid down by the medical fraternity .
AAJ said a “new normal” for conducting daily activities is evolving worldwide as lockdown restrictions are easing and services are resuming.
So AAJ after consultations and suggestions and observing the precepts being followed by Muslims world over, is re-opening the historic Jama Masjid Srinagar for prayers from Tuesday August 18.
AAJ said that health regulations and SOPs need to be strictly followed by those visiting the mosques. AAJ strongly suggests that vulnerable community members i.e elderly those who are sick, and children should stay away from coming to the mosque for prayers. Young children should not be brought along to the mosque.
AAJ said that the international guidelines and protocol while visiting mosques in view of the Covid 19 pandemic should be strictly adhered to.
Worshipers should not greet each other by hugging, shaking hands or any other physical contact and should maintain a physical distance at all times.
Worshippers will leave a distance of 2 meters between them and a space of one row between two rows.
The use of fountain for ablution inside the mosques will not be permitted. All worshippers should mandatorily wear a face mask and bring their own prayer mats and their own copies of holy Quran with them. Ablution should be done at home and worshippers should ensure that they keep a safe distance from others when leaving or entering the mosque.
