All religious places in Maharashtra will open from October 7

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has taken the decision after meeting the task force.

All the religious places in Maharashtra will be open for general public from October 7. The visitors will have to follow the Covid 19 protocol.

The decison was taken after the state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's meeting with the task force. The places of worship will be opened on the first day of Navratri.

All temples in Maharashtra to be reopened from October 7th -the first day of Navratri: Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office (CMO)

(File photo) pic.twitter.com/a3kKGTIeoU — ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2021

Thackeray urged people not to drop guard and continue COVID-19-appropriate behaviour in view of a possible third wave of the pandemic.

"All religious places will be opened from October 7 in the state. The Maharashtra government has prepared itself for a third wave, but with all precautions, the state is allowing relaxations in various activities," he said.

The CM said though infections are declining in the state the coronavirus threat persists. "Although daily COVID-19 cases are showing a declining trend, everybody should take care and follow COVID-19 protocols," he said.

"While religious places are going to be opened, people still need to wear face masks and use hand sanitizers. The management of religious places will be responsible for implementation of such measures," Thackeray said.

For long, the opposition BJP had been demanding reopening of temples and other places of worship in Maharashtra. Last month, the BJP had staged protests in several cities of Maharashtra in support of their demand.

After the first coronavirus wave waned, places of religious worship were reopened in Maharashtra in November last year, but they were shutdown again for people after the second wave started in the state in March 2021.

Maharashtra on Friday reported 3,286 new coronavirus cases and 51 deaths, which took the state's infection tally to 65,37,843 and the toll to 1,38,776, a health department official said. With 3,933 patients discharged from hospitals, the number of recovered cases rose to 63,57,012. Maharashtra now has 39,491 active cases.

(With inputs from PTI)