Devotees were seen offering first Thursday prayers at Lodhi Road's Sai Baba Temple today as the religious places re-opened amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
Thursdays are considered to be auspicious for Sai Baba's worship, hence the management has taken extra caution, as per the government-induced COVID-19 guidelines, to avoid the possibility of huge crowds.
"It is mandatory for all visitors to wear facial masks. We are only permitting 10 people at a time inside the temple. Also, they are not allowed to offer garland or 'prasad' in the temple," Ganesh Pandey, Priest at Sai Baba Temple told .
Thermal scanning and hand stisation facilities have been arranged at the temple, he added.
Rajesh Sharma, a devotee said, "The temple is being stised every 15 minutes while a small number of people are allowed to stay inside the temple for a limited period of time."
"Although it is Thursday, only a few have come to pay their visit to the temple," said Deeksha, another devotee who came to the temple.
According to the temple authority, children below 10 years and adults above 65 years of age are not permitted inside the temple premises.
Earlier, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said that religious places and places of worship for public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services along with shopping malls will be re-opened from June 8.
( With inputs from ANI )