Bhopal, June 7: Places of worship would not reopen in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal tomorrow despite the permit granted by central government in non-containment zones. The decision to prolong the shutdown of religious places is based on the feedback received from community leaders, said Bhopal District Collector Tarun Pithode. Health Ministry Issues SOPs For Malls, Religious Places, Private Offices, Hotels and Restaurants.

The temples, mosques, gurudwaras, churches and other places of worship could be reopened next week, after receiving feedback from religious leaders and reviewing the preparations, the Collector added. In other parts of the state, which are not declared as containment zones, the holy sites and religious places are allowed to reopen from tomorrow.

"Religious leaders have sought more time for preparations to reopen religious places so we have decided not to reopen religious places in Bhopal from tomorrow. They will be reopened next week after reviewing the preparedness," Pithode said.

Update by ANI

The Health Ministry, earlier this week, issued the Standard Operational Protocol (SOP) for devotees who would be visiting the religious places from June 8. All forms of mass congregations continue to remain barred. The devotees would need to maintain adequate distance amongst themselves, to ensure social distancing. Wearing of face masks and carrying personal prayer mats is mandatory.

Apart from religious places, restaurants, malls, hotels, all forms of essential and non-essential shops and service providers are expected to resume operations from tomorrow, in non-containment zones. An exception, however, are the states of Maharashtra and Sikkim where the relaxations would not come into effect from June 8.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2020 03:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).