Instructions to wearing masks are not being followed in spirit.
As long
queues and hustle bustle returns to the Golden Temple, the authorities are in a
fix on how to make the pilgrims at Golden Temple to wear masks, a critical
protection that can go a long way in breaking the COVID-19 chain.
Currently both the pilgrims
and even those performing sewa at the Golden Temple could be seen moving around
without masks. While The Punjab government had made wearing face masks for people
mandatory in public, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) is
caught between duty and devotion over imposing the Covid-19 protocol inside the
gurdwara premises in Amritsar. The district is in the top three with most Covid
cases.
“We gave
clear instructions to the devotees to wear the mask. Our sewadar, standing inside
the premises of Golden Temple, repeatedly keep telling the devotees to put on
masks and follow all other Covid-19 protocol. We can only advise not force the
devotees to wear masks,” said SGPC secretary Mahinder Singh Ahali.
Incidentally,
even sewadars are seen moving around without masks. Ahali, however, blamed it
on the nature of work. “Our employees follow the instructions. But there may be
some jobs where they may have to remove mask. Otherwise no employee is supposed
to remove it,” said Ahali.
“When devotees are inside the
Golden Temple premises, you cannot force them to do something that is not
related to devotion. We can only make requests. For most devotees, it is a
matter of faith and they believe that they cannot get infected inside the
Golden Temple. It is here that they want to believe more in God and their faith
than the instructions,” said Ahali, adding that it is the SGPC that will be
blamed if the sewadars enter into arguments with devotees over the mask issue.
“The devotees know what is best for them.”
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