Temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board in Pathanamthitta witnessed a low turnout of devotees when they were thrown open to devotees on Tuesday after 78 days owing to the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The Sreevallabha temple at Thiruvalla and the Mahadevar temples at Kaviyur and Chengannur too witnessed a lean pilgrim turnout. The Jacobite Syrian Church will open its churches attached to the Kollam and Niranom dioceses for the Sunday service. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar and the Believers Eastern Church have decided not to open their churches this month. Mar Thoma Church head Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan is of the view that there is no point in opening the churches without permitting entry to believers above the age of 65 years and children below the age of 10 years.

Source: The Hindu June 09, 2020 17:19 UTC