E-Paper
Footfall, donations improve but normalcy yet to return to Golden Temple
Low footfall attributed to the fact that air and rail connectivity have not fully resumed due to which devotees from other states and countries are unable to visit.
Though footfall and donations from devotees are gradually increasing at the Golden Temple, complete normalcy is yet to return to the Sikh holy shrine.
The staff of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages the affairs of the shrine, says that though the number of devotees has considerably increased as compared to the initial months of the lockdown, it is still far from what was seen before the pandemic outbreak.
SGPC honourary chief secretary Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the shrine is currently getting only 60-65% of its normal footfall.
The dip in footfall is clearly visible as before the pandemic, the bridge on the sarovar (holy tank), which leads to the sanctum sanctorum, used to be jam-packed with devotees. Now, the rush is much lower and devotees can be seen waiting in queues while ensuring physical distancing. The wait time for reaching the sachkand (sanctum sanctorum) has also come down.
Dhami attributes the low footfall to the fact that air and rail connectivity have not fully resumed due to which devotees from other states and countries are unable to visit. This in turn has led to a dip in donations. Notably, a major chunk of donations came from NRIs. But most of them are unable to visit due to restrictions on international travel.
Dhami says the dip in donations has had an adverse impact on the functioning of SGPC, which runs scores of educational, medical, sports, religious and human welfare institutions.
It may be recalled that during the initial months of the lockdown, the average daily footfall had dipped to 1,000 and the average daily collection of offerings had come down to around Rs. 10,000 a day.
