With the deadly novel Coronavirus spreading its wings across India, the government as a preventive measure has now announced the closure of prominent tourist and religious spots. Public monuments and museums such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar and Red fort will now be kept closed till 31st March, 2020.
In a recent announcement, Tourism Minister, Prahlad Patel stated that, “All ASI monuments and central museums will be shut till March 31 in view of the spread of coronavirus. We are taking this very seriously.” Nearly 3,700 monuments and sites are under the Archeological Survey of India. Most schools and entertainment facilities, including cinemas, have already been closed across the country.
Besides this, some prominent tourists and religious attractions in India will remain shut till further notice, in view of the ongoing crisis posed by the deadly novel Coronavirus. Here’s a close look at these spots:
Tourist spots
- Along with Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort, other spots such as Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum, Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, Jaswant Thada and Ahhichatragarh Fort of Nagaur will remain closed till March 31.
- With the highest number of Coronavirus cases reported from Maharashtra, the state government, as a precautionary measure announced closure of schools, gyms, malls, shopping complexes, swimming pools and theatres. Besides, the world-famous Ajanta and Ellora caves near Aurangabad have been closed.
- After the closure of Veer Mata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo and all the entry points of Sanjay Gandhi National Park will be closed for visitors. Amusement parks such as EsselWorld and Water Kingdom at Gorai, Borivli have closed till 31st March, 2020.
- Also entry restrictions have been imposed in Mantralaya, the state secretariat in South Mumbai which sees thousands of visitors daily.
- Odisha’s Nandankanan Zoo, the Botanical Garden and other prominent tourist places to remain closed till March 31.Entry of visitors have been barred to places like Puri, Konark, Chandrabhaga and Chilika.
- The ancient heritage sites in Hampi have been closed for a week as a precautionary measure. Owing to its status as the UNESCO World Heritage Site, a lot of tourists in Hampi had been arriving without going through the 14-day mandatory quarantine.
- Several tourist attractions in Kodagu such as the Raja Seat in Madikeri as well as Cauvery Nisargadhama near Kushalnagar will remain closed.
- Entry of tourists has been banned at Brindavan Gardens and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary located in Mandya district of Karnataka till an indefinite period.
- The district administration of Vijayapura has shut several tourist sites, including the Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza.
- Kolkata’s major tourist spots, including Victoria Memorial, MP Birla Planetarium and Indian Museum have banned the entry of visitors.
- As per a report, Assam has shut all the tiger reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the state from March 17 to March 29.
- Tamil Nadu’s key tourists spots, including in hilly Nilgiri district and the coastal town of Mamallapuram near Chennai have come under lockdown.
- In Ooty, the guests staying in hotels and resorts were asked to return to their places within 24 hours.
Religious spots
- Over the last weeks, the temples at Maharashtra’s Shirdi and Kerala’s Sabarimala had asked devotees to postpone their visit for a few weeks.
- Odisha’s Sun temple in Konark has been closed for a week as a preventive measure to curb coronavirus.
- After banning the entry of foreign tourists to the Valley, Jammu and Kashmir administration has suspended the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage and all interstate bus services to the Union territory.
- The popular religious spot in Mumbai including Siddhivinayak temple, Siddhivinayak temple, Mumbadevi Mandir, Mahalakshmi, Babulnath and ISKON have declared that the shrine will closed for darshan from 17th March till 31st March.
- The Tuljabhawani temple in Osmanabad district has been closed.
- As per reports, the devotees will not be allowed to attend the Bhasmarti at Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain till March 31 due to Coronavirus.
- Renowned shrine of Lord Balaji atop Tirumala with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams are deciding to cancel some daily and weekly rituals and religious events owing to the virus scare.
- Vrindavan’s Iskcon Temple in Mathura has asked foreign devotees not to visit the temple for next two months. If in case a devotee wishes to visit, they will have to produce medical certificate to prove that they are not infected.
- Three Shaktipeeths in Himachal Pradesh- Jwalamukhi, Bajreshwari Kangra and Chamunda of Kangra have been shut.
