Coimbatore temple consecrates ‘Corona Devi’ idol to protect people from pandemic

Anand Bharathi, the manager of Kamatchipuri Adhinam, said that consecrating deities to protect people from deadly diseases have been in practice in the past and pointed out about the Plague Mariamman temple in the vicinity as an example.

However, the local authorities said that the people in the surrounding areas have been informed not to visit the temple as lockdown restrictions are enforced. (Express photo)

In the wake of the deadly Covid outbreak, the authorities of Kamatchipuri Adhinam, a temple in Coimbatore, have consecrated ‘Corona Devi’, a black stone idol of 1.5 feet tall, to protect people from the virus. The temple management is planning to organize Maha Yagam soon with special poojas to the deity for 48 days.

This comes at a time when when the second wave of the pandemic has caused untold suffering, with healthcare workers battling physical exhaustion and mental fatigue. The government is also battling hard to keep liquid oxygen, vaccines and other drugs in stock.

However, the local authorities said that the people in the surrounding areas have been informed not to visit the temple as lockdown restrictions are enforced.

‘Corona Devi’ deity consecrated in Coimbatore by the authorities of Kamatchipuri Adhinam to protect people from the pandemic virus. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/iGM59k9i9C

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) May 19, 2021

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Anand Bharathi, the manager of Kamatchipuri Adhinam, said consecrating deities to protect people from deadly diseases have been in practice for many years. He cited Plague Mariamman temple in the vicinity as an example.

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“People are affected by Covid-19. So, our Guruji informed us in our dream to do something like this to save people. The consecration ceremony was held yesterday (Tuesday) and we started offering the poojas from today (Wednesday),” he said.

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 34,875 new Covid-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 16,99,225. With 365 casualties, the state’s Covid-19 toll rose to 18,734.

Janardhan Koushik

Janardhan Koushik is Deputy Copy Editor of indianexpress.com. He is a New Media journalist with over five years of reporting experience in the industry. He has a keen interest in politics, sports, films, and other civic issues. Janardhan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication from SRM Arts and Science College and a PG Diploma in New Media from Asian College of Journalism, one of the top ranked journalism schools in India. He started his career with India Today group as a sub-editor as part of the sports team in 2016. He has also a wide experience as a script-writer having worked for short-films, pilot films as well as a radio jockey cum show producer while contributing for an online Tamil FM. As a multilingual journalist, he actively tracks the latest development in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry utiling his well-established networks to contribute significantly to breaking news stories. He has also worked as a sports analyst for Star Sports. ... Read More

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