Mathura priests wary of alcohol-based sanitizers

Mathura, June 8 (IANS) The Yogi government's insistence on using alcohol-based sanitizers in temple premises has not gone down well with priests of several temples in Mathura and Vrindavan.

Ganesh Pehalwan of the Mukut Mukharvind temple in Govardhan said on Sunday, "The temple committee has decided not to open the temple for public as we will not use alcohol-based sanitizers on the premises, which is mandatory as per guidelines. Alcohol is prohibited in the temple and we cannot allow alcohol-based sanitizers. However, we have put up LED screens that will allow darshan for the devotees."

Some major shrines, including Iskcon, Banke Bihari, Mukut Mukharvind and Shri Rang Nath Ji, have also decided not to open their doors for public on Monday and one of the reasons is the government's directions for mandatory use of alcohol-based sanitisers on the temple premises.

Saurabh Das from International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Vrindavan said that they will open the temple for public after June 15 as they need to train the security staff with the latest guidelines and make adequate arrangements inside the premises.

Meanwhile, Mathura District Magistrate Sarvagya Ram Mishra held a meeting with managements of several temples and apprised them about the recent guidelines prepared by state government for reopening of religious places across the state. He also informed that all steps would be taken for effective crowd management.