Coronavirus outbreak: Sangat partaking of langar at Golden Temple dips by half

A medical team deployed outside the main entrance of shrine to starts screening of devotees with thermal scanners

The footfall of devotees at the Golden Temple’s langar hall (community kitchen) has come down by nearly half even as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is determined to keep the shrine open for pilgrims in the wake of the global outbreak of coronavirus.

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An average 1 lakh people visit the Golden Temple on weekdays, with majority of them partaking of langar in the community kitchen. On festive occasions and weekends, the number doubles.

Langar in-charge Bhag Singh claimed there was 50% dip in the devotees’ footfall in the hall on Wednesday as compared to the average number on weekdays. “The rapidly spreading scare of coronavirus has shown effect on the flow of devotees partaking of langar here,” he added.

“We used to witness a huge rush in the langar hall in March as tourist footfall is particularly high in Amritsar during this time. The government banning the entry of foreign tourists in India due to Covid-19 has also impacted the overall footfall,” he said.

Bhola Singh, a resident of Amritsar who has been doing volunteer service at the community kitchen for last 10 years, said, “It is for the first time that I have noticed such a downfall in the footfall of devotees here.”

No precautionary measure in kitchen

No precautionary measure is being taken in the community kitchen as prescribed by the health authorities. On Wednesday, devotees were seen sitting closer without following the prescribed one-meter distance parameter. Even the volunteers serving food to the devotees were not wearing any mask.

But the shrine management claimed to have taken adequate measures. “Now, the devotees are being made to sit in parallel lines with a distance of about 6 feet,” said the langar in-charge.

Baldev Singh, a retired SGPC employee and a volunteer at the langar hall, said, “There is no need to take much precaution here. This shrine is the abode of god.”

Special precautions are being taken while distributing ‘karah parshad’ (halwa) among the devotees, an SGPC official said. They have directed all its employees to wash their hands with sanitisers regularly while distributing ‘karah parshad’, he added. But many of the employees were seen having covered their faces with handkerchiefs in the absence of masks.

‘Working to ensure safety of visitors’

On Wednesday, a canopy was installed outside the main entrance of the shrine where a team of doctors of the state health department and SGPC-run Sri Guru Ram Das Hospital was deployed to screen the devotees with thermal scanners.

SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh said, “We are working round the clock with the help of the health department to ensure the devotees’ safety. The sewadars (volunteers) have been directed to ensure adequate distance among the devotees.”

Dr Jaspreet Sharma, a health department official, is heading the team deployed outside the shrine. “An ambulance has been stationed here. If anyone found to have symptoms of the virus, they will be sent to the isolation ward of the civil hospital. We will not take any chance,” Dr Sharma added.

Curtailed timings at Devi Talab Temple, Jalandhar

Devi Talab Temple has curtailed visited hours from 11am to 4pm starting Thursday. The over 200-years-old temple is situated in the heart of Jalandhar City, just 1 km from the railway station. General secretary of the temple committee Rajesh Vij said, “Adequate arrangements have been made for visitors. A medical team is also available to tackle any emergency.