KATHMANDU: Devotees staged a sit-in protest demanding the reopening of the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu and other temples, stupas and monasteries that have been shut down for public for nearly six months to curb the risk of COVID-19 spread.
In the sit-in protest staged at Pashupatinath Temple area here today by the
Bishwa Hindu Mahasangh, a religious organization advancing the cause of Hinduism and the Hindus, the protestors called for the reopening of these places of faith putting in place safety measures such as physical and social distancing, usage of facial masks and sanitizers among others.
Holy shrines such as Pashupatinath Temple, Bouddha Stupa among others, have been closed for the public since the nationwide lockdown on March 24 to prevent and control the deadly infection.
Two persons sitting in the peaceful sit-in protest were injured when the police baton-charged them, shared Mahasangh’s general-secretary Ganesh Prasad Neupane.
Mahasangh’s president Ramchandra Adhikari urged all the Hindus to be alert and aware as he went on to say that conspiracies were being hatched to destroy ancient and original religions and sects such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
Pashupati Area Development Trust’s Arjun Prasad Bastola shared that the Trust had presented a list of criteria to reopen the Pashupatinath Temple by mid-July. It was even presented in the meeting of the Council of Ministers, shared Bastola, urging the devotees to be patient and take a leap of faith at the time of health crisis like this.
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