Karnataka will allow religious places to open in the state after May 31, when the fourth phase of the Covid-19 lockdown is scheduled to end, reports said on Wednesday.
Temples, mosques, churches and other religious institutions have been shut for the last two months due to the coronavirus disease-induced lockdown across the country.
“We are going to open temples, mosques and churches in the state after May 31,” Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
State minister Kota Srinivas Poojary had said on Tuesday that temples in the state will be opened for public from June 1.
“We have had discussions with the chief minister regarding Muzrai department, during which it was decided to open temples from June 1,” Poojary, the minister for Hindu religious institutions and charitable endowments (Muzrai), had said.
Poojary, however, had said that even as temples will be opened to offer prayers and daily rituals, temple fairs and events will not be permitted.
Most restrictions have been relaxed in lockdown 4.0 with public transport, shops and the movement of people allowed across the country.
