Corona Mata Temple Built In UP’s Pratapgarh District Demolished By Administration To Prevent Superstitions

In an interesting development, villagers in Juhi Shukulpur village in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh built a "Corona Mata" temple, seeking divine grace to stay clear of the infection.

However, the said temple built under the limits of the Sangipur police station in Pratapgarh district was demolished on Friday (11 June) night by the district administration, reports Zee News.

According to Inspector general of police, Prayagraj range, K P Singh, the police administration has removed the `Corona Mata` temple from the village to prevent people from getting trapped in superstitious activities.

He said that the police teams are also making efforts to create awareness among the masses regarding Covid-19, claiming that it is a deadly virus and they should not get involved in such superstitious things.

The temple was in fact built by a group of villagers led by Lokesh Kumar Srivastava after collecting donations. The villagers had started offering prayers to Corona Mata praying that the "shadow of Covid-19 should never fall on Shuklapur and adjoining villages".

Not only this, they also highlighted the importance of the Covid-19 protocol like the use of masks and social distancing while offering prayers at the temple. The idol too wore a mask.

Villagers claimed that devotees were not allowed to touch the idol and offered only yellow flowers to the goddess.

The IG also added that a probe has been ordered by the police administration to look into the issue after a man from the village, Nagesh Kumar Srivastava has submitted an application to Sangipur police station claiming that his brother, Lokesh Kumar, staying in Ghaziabad, had set up `Corona Mata` temple without consultation of other family members and went back to Ghaziabad after construction of the temple.

Police said that the `Corona Mata` temple had come up at Shuklapur village in Pratapgarh district three days back and hundreds of villagers had started offering prayers to ward off coronavirus.

With IANS Inputs