Arrangements made for virtual darshan from Deoghar's Baidhyanath temple

Lakhs of people from across the country visit the temple every year during the Shravani Mela, which commences a day after the Guru Purnima. However, the Jharkhand High Court on Friday denied permission to hold the annual event this year as coconavirus cases are rising in the state, and directed the authorities to make arrangements for virtual darshan of the devotees.

All arrangements have been made to live-stream pujas and rituals from the Baidhyanath temple in Deoghar during the holy month of Shravan from Monday, as the annual Shravani Mela will not be held this year in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, an official said on Sunday. Lakhs of people from across the country visit the temple every year during the Shravani Mela, which commences a day after the Guru Purnima.

However, the Jharkhand High Court on Friday denied permission to hold the annual event this year as coconavirus cases are rising in the state, and directed the authorities to make arrangements for virtual darshan of the devotees. "Following the direction of the high court, this years Shravani Mela has been cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak and arrangements for online darshan from tomorrow have been made," Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Nancy Sahay said.

The morning and evening rituals conducted by priests will be telecast live on the Facebook page and website of the Deoghar district administration, Doordarshan and private news channels for the devotees to watch, Sahay said. The month-long 'Kanwar yatra', in which Shiva devotees fetch sacred water from the river Ganga in Sultanganj in Bihar's Bhagalpur district and offer it at the Baidyanath temple, has also been cancelled to check the spread of the virus.

'Kanwar yatra' used to begin a day after the Guru Purnima, which was observed in the temple on Sunday. Officials said barricades have been erected near the temple to prevent the entry of devotees.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren greeted the people on the occasion of Guru Purnima..