Tamil Nadu: Holding weddings at this Cuddalore shrine is considered auspicious. (Representative)
Chenai:
Weddings were performed by priests on roads outside a popular temple in Cuddalore district as places of worship were closed due to COVID restrictions and a shutdown was observed in Tamil Nadu on Sunday to combat the spread of the virus .
On the roads adjoining the Tiruvanthipuram Sri Devanathaswamy temple in the northern coastal district of Cuddalore and in and around the shrine’s premises, several weddings were performed on Sunday, which bodes well’Naal of Muhurtha‘ in the Tamil month of ‘Thai’.
Moreover, traditionally holding weddings in this shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu is considered by people as auspicious. The temple, like all other places of worship, is closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday per week. The ‘kumbabishekam‘, the consecration ceremony of the Vadapalani Lord Murugan temple here was performed by priests in the presence of a very minimum number of people considering the curbs.
The ‘Sunday lockdown’, albeit with some easing, has seen deserted markets, roads and highways, with police enforcing curbs across the state with the help of local authorities.
The relaxations include those related to weddings, deaths, medical emergencies and essential services. Cars and taxis have been allowed by authorities to help train and plane passengers reach their destinations.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian said the state’s Sunday lockdown would become unnecessary when virus cases decline further. Overall, new cases are down in Tamil Nadu and they have now fallen in Chennai to around 6,000 cases out of 9,000 recent infections, the minister told reporters.
People were conforming to the standards, which is evident by the deserted roads during Sunday’s lockdown today, he said. The “success of the shutdown” demonstrated the people’s support for the measures taken by Chief Minister MK Stalin to fight the third wave, the minister said.
On January 23, Tamil Nadu reported 30,580 new COVID cases including returnees from other states and active cases crossed the 2 lakh mark (2,00,954 cases).
Night curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. continues to be implemented in Tamil Nadu. On Sunday, January 9, a one-day full shutdown was imposed in Tamil Nadu, the first in 2022 and also in the third wave of the COVID pandemic. A similar lockdown was also enforced last Sunday.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
