Baidyanathdham temple in Deoghar opened for public on Thursday morning after a gap of five months.
The temple remained closed for devotees ever since the lockdown was imposed in March-end. The state government had also cancelled the annual, month-long Shravani Mela that was supposed to begin from July 6 to check the spread of the coronavirus.
In view of a Supreme Court order, the temple, however, opened for a few hours on Rakhi Purnima on August 3 when 301 devotees were allowed to have a darshan.
The home, prison and disaster management department of the state government issued an order on Wednesday evening, allowing opening of both the Deoghar temple and Basukinath temple in adjoining Dumka district under certain conditions.
Both the temples will be open for four hours every day. While 50 devotees will be allowed every hour at the Deoghar temple, 40 people can enter Basukinath temple provided they wear mask, sanitise their hands and maintain social distancing, the government order said.
It also recommended the entry of devotees “preferably on the basis of online entry passes”.
“While rest of the conditions have been fulfilled, the provision of issuing online entry passes will be made within a day or two,” a senior officer informed from Deoghar, adding around 200 devotees had a darshan on Thursday.
Godda BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had challenged the state government’s decision to cancel the Shravani Mela in Jharkhand High Court. Though the court did not allow Shravani Mela, it directed the government to arrange for virtual darshan, which was done.
Not satisfied with the order, Dubey moved the Supreme Court, which in its order on July 31 questioned the logic behind keeping the places of worship closed even after lockdown.
It also requested the Jharkhand government to allow worshippers on a limited basis so that there was no large congregation and devotees could maintain social distance.
Accordingly, the Baidyanathdham temple was opened for a few hours on Rakhi Purnima, the last day of Shravan as per Vikram Samvat calendar, when 301 devoted visited the temple.
The state government’s Wednesday order paved the way for regular opening of both Baidyanathdham and Basukinath temples, albeit with restrictions.