KATHMANDU, September 3: Preparations are currently underway to reopen the Pashupatinath Temple around the Teej festival. According to Rewati Raman Adhikari, Administrative Officer of the Pashupatinath Area Development Trust (PADT), the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the District Administrative Office of Kathmandu have been consulted to reopen the temple around the Teej festival.
The Pashupatinath Temple along with other religious temples around it has remained closed to the devotees following the increasing risk of the new variants of the COVID-19 in April. A meeting of the PADT officials is scheduled for today to discuss the reopening of the famous Hindu temple ahead or after the Teej festival.
Construction of Chhathi Mai Puja sites underway at Pashupatinat...
According to Dr Ghanshyam Khatiwada, Executive Director of the PADT, the temple is set to reopen for the devotees after almost five months. Preparations are underway to secure safe distance and safety protocols between devotees while arriving at the temple for worship, he said. Masks are mandatory for anyone wanting to enter the temple.
Earlier, the temple was initially closed to the public from March 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was reopened after almost 10 months for the devotees by maintaining health and safety protocols from 6AM till 2PM. Despite reopening the temple for the devotees, the area had remained closed for tourists, causing the PADT to lose millions of rupees from selling tickets.
