CHANDIGARH, Punjab—With lifting of restrictions on influx into religious shrines after two and half months, around 50,000 devotees thronged to the holiest Sikh shrine Sri Harmandir Sahib on June 8. The rejoiced devotees were observed taking dip in the holy sarovar and offering prayers for the well-being of mankind while paying obeisance inside sanctum sanctorum.
The Punjab police have also lifted most of the barricades installed around Sri Harmandir Sahib and inside the walled city of Amritsar.
The devotees started thronging to Sri Harmandir Sahib from the early wee hours and the movement remained observable till late evening hours.
On being contacted by Sikh24, SGPC officials informed that all the arrangements were in effect to keep social distancing among devotees. “All the devotees are being subjected to thermal checking and sanitization of their hands before entering into Sri Harmandir Sahib,” informed an SGPC official.
Expressing cheerfulness on having opportunity to pay obeisance at Sri Harmandir Sahib after such a long period, a devotee turned emotional while narrating how he spent the past days when he couldn’t come to pay obeisance due to restrictions.
Sri Harmandir Sahib’s manager Mukhtar Singh Cheema informed that around 50,000 devotees paid obeisance on June 8. “We have deployed around 100 additional sewadars to ensure social distancing among devotees,” he said while adding that special arrangements were also made to ensure social distancing among devotees partaking langar in world’s largest community kitchen.
Cheema further informed that the daily collection from Karah Prasad counter amounted to around INR 1,75,000 on June 8.
