Karnataka govt issues guidelines for mosques during Ramadhan; details here
Iftar arrangement at mosques prohibited
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued advisory and guidelines in the wake of the commencement of the holy month of Ramadhan and a steep increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. The circular issued by the state government added that mosques in containment zones shall remain closed till the zone is notified and those outside containment zones are allowed to open up.
People above the age of 60 years with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below 10 years are advised to stay at home.
“The steep increase in the number of COVID-19 cases daily calls for strict compliances of COVID Appropriate Behavior (CAB), especially during the upcoming month of Ramazan and the concerned rituals, during which the people tend to congregate in large numbers. The following guidelines are issued herewith for strict compliance in the larger interest of the public health” the circular added.
“The preventive measures include simple public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of COVID-19. These measures need to be observed by all persons” it added.
People at mosques that are open shall maintain a distance of 2 meters (6 feet) at all times while large gatherings and congregation continue to remain prohibited. Specific markings on the floor shall also be made to manage the queue.
The mosques have been urged to make arrangements of imams for one or more Jamath as per the strength of Musallies while Juma Namaz timing is to be notified as under 12:45 to 1:15 pm, 1:30 to 2:00 pm, and 2:30 to 3:00 pm.
Makhtab, Madarasas, or religious classes inside the mosques are also prohibited. The iftar arrangements at the mosques are also prohibited and people are advised to break their fasts at home and come to mosques only for prayers. Similarly, the Taraweeh is also advised to be held under proper precautionary measures and in two Jamaths if possible.
People are also advised to perform Taharath and Wazu (ablution) at their homes and come to mosques. Using of face masks is also mandatory. A trained volunteer is also urged to perform thermal screening at entry and people having a temperature of more than 37.5 C or 99.5 F or symptoms of cough, cold, throat pain, and difficulty in breathing shall not be allowed inside and referred to seek medical consultation.
Common prayer mats shall be avoided and devotees shall bring their own prayer mat or piece of cloth which they shall take back with them.
The circular also added that the management committee is responsible to ensure that these guidelines are strictly adhered to. Every masjid shall form a COVID-19 safety committee to implement and monitor the guidelines mentioned in the circular.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
