Hyderabad: Two-and-a-half months after they were ordered to close their doors, places of worship, restaurants as well as malls threw open their doors on Monday, the day one of Unlock 1.0 only to witness sparse attendance for prayers in temples, mosques and churches, and very low rate of footfalls in shopping malls and eateries.
Though on the streets and local shops, or in supermarkets, many people do not seem to care to respect social distance measures, there appeared to be some fear among people when it came to visiting places that used to attract good crowds, as in shopping malls.
Malls, the usual hangout for many youngsters and families out for purchases, were nearly bare with few people making it on Monday. The owner of a designer clothing store in a mall on Road Number 1, Banjara Hills, said “people are afraid of Covid. So they are not coming because everyone thinks malls are always crowded. There are so many cases everyday that people may be thinking it would be risky to go to malls.”
Incidentally, two of the most famous mosques – the Macca Masjid and the Shahi Masjid – kept their doors shut as their managements awaited instructions from the state government on how to go about reopening for the devout to offer prayers. While these two mosques are administered by the minorities welfare department, other mosques in the city, managed by the state Wakf Board, were opened and enforced safety measures for the people.
While Catholic churches saw subdued attendance for their multiple services, churches serving members of the Protestant denomination, remained closed over worries of congregations that could turn into Covid-19 spreading events.
Even popular temples including the TTD Venkateswara Swamy temple in Himayatnagar saw just a few hundred devotees turning up. Strict anti-contagion spreading measures were in place with people not being offered prasadam or theertham and not even allowed to ring the bells. And when some families came with young children and older people, they were sent away. Many other temples too witnessed very few people visiting them.
