Pashupatinath temple to open from Friday

KATHMANDU: The Pashupatinath temple, which has been closed for devotees since late April this year will open for devotees from coming Friday.

Executive Director of the Pashupati Area Development Trust Dr Ghanshyam Khatiwada told RSS that the temple will be reopen from 5:30 am on Friday in consideration of the declining threat of corona virus. The PADT is preparing to hold a chyama pooja on Thursday for closing the temple to the devotees for four and a half months.

However, the temple will be open only till 1:00 pm as the risk of corona virus infection is not completely neutralized. Devotees who want to visit Pashupatinath temple must wear a mask and followed the health protocol prescribed by the concerned authorities. Only 25 devotees will be allowed to enter the temple at a time.

The PADT has made arrangements for devotees to enter the temple through one door and exit through the other door. Executive Director Khatiwada said that a meeting of the security committee has been held today to decide on opening the temple from Friday.

The Pashupatinath temple was closed for devotees for nine months after the first wave of the corona pandemic. On the occasion of Mahashivaratri festival the temple was opened full time as usual from early March last year. But it was shut down again after the cases of COVID-19 continued to rise, leading to a probability of a third wave.