TN govt decision to keep religious places closed on weekends draws flak

A lot of questions have been raised by many people on the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to continue the closure places of worship on weekends, from Friday.

Many senior citizens as well as businessmen, who are in the habit of going to religious places before the start of the day, are finding it difficult to do as the places are closed during weekends. There are also tourists, who come from within the state or from other states, to visit places like Rameswaram or Madurai, who find it difficult to go to temples or churches in the weekends.

“Recently we suddenly planned to visit Rameswaram and started on Thursday from Chennai. We thought of having darshan on Thursday evening but, by the time we reached Rameswaram, the temple was closed. We had to stay on the island till Monday morning,” said S Sandhya, a Chennai-based IT engineer.

“When we went to the temple on Monday morning, it was very crowded and several tourists from Tiruchi, Kancheepuram, and other places, landed there on Monday morning. If the government wants to prevent crowding, it should not close the temples during the weekend,” said Sandhya.

There are several places in Tamil Nadu where the local people are dependent on the famous temples in the area. “It is only during weekends many people from Kerala and Karnataka visit Palani, and it is only during these days the business for local hotels, or shops is better, but since the government closes the temples during weekends, the places like Rameswaram or Tiruchendur looks empty,” said a businessman owning a shop in Palani.

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There are also voices from those who are supporting the government asking the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, to allow temples and other religious places to remain open during weekends.

“It is only due to the steps taken by the Chief Minister that many departments worked very hard and have lowered the COVID-19 numbers in the state. I request the Chief Minister to order the opening of temples and other religious places during the weekends as well,” tweeted State Minorities Commission Chairman Peter Alphonse.

Similarly, other religious leaders are also asking the government not to close temples during the weekend. But the latest lockdown guidelines, released on Tuesday, has retained the order of the closing of religious places during the weekend.

“Continued closure of places of worship for 3 days a week has no scientific basis when almost everything else is open with few restrictions. Asking them to limit crowds & follow COVID protocols with curbs on processions & festivals are all fine. Closing them 3/7 days is unjust,” tweeted analyst Sumanth Raman.