SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec 24: On the occasion of New Year’s Day, (December 31 and January 1), only persons who have taken both doses of the Covid-19 vaccination will be allowed to enter Basukinath Temple in Dumka.
Due to the large number of people coming for ‘Darshan’ of Basukinath aka Fojdaribaba Dumka on New Year’s Day every year, the district government has decided to only admit those who have taken the vaccine to prevent more Covid and Omicron infections.
Dumka Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ravishankar Shukla and Superintendent of Police (SP) Ambar Lakra in this regard held a meeting with representatives of Basukinath Panda Dharm Rakshani Mahasabha on Thursday evening. They directed the board to allow devotees on December 31 and January 1 in the temple only after showing Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
On the occasion of New Year, thousands of devotees from different districts of Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal throng to Baba Baidyanath temple Deoghar and Basukinath Temple of Dumka.
To ensure that the direction is strictly followed, the DC has ordered the deployment of a magistrate and a large police force at all entry points and within the premises of the Basukinath temple to maintain peace, law, and order.
“As per guidelines issued by the state government, devotees below 18 years old would not be allowed entry. Moreover, vaccinated devotees would only be allowed from 5.30 am to 4 pm on December 31 and January 1,” said the DC.
Interestingly, the DC has also directed the civil surgeon to arrange vaccination teams at the temple as well as an ambulance.
The district administration has also appealed to members of Dharma Rakshani Maha Sabha to inform the devotees through social media to avoid massive rush so that the devotees do not face any kind of unnecessary trouble during the darshan of Basukinath on the occasion.
