Bhubaneswar: After being closed for about nine months due to COVID-19 outbreak, the Odisha government Monday said the process for reopening religious institutions has started, a top official said.
Following decline in single-day COVID-19 positive cases, the authorities are now mulling reopening of religious places for devotees, he said.
District Collectors have been empowered to take a decision to open the religious places in their respective districts after discussing with stakeholders and putting standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, Chief Secretary AK Tripathy informed in a tweet.
There was a state-wide demand to reopen temples, churches and mosques after the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) initiated measures to throw open the 12th century shrine in Puri for devotees from December 23.
All public places of worship have been closed since March March 22 following the outbreak of COVID-19.
The State Endowments Commission has recommended to the state government to reopen temples across Odisha with strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocol, said Endowment Commissioner Chittaranjan Mohapatra.
PNN