Some Indian Temples Are Against the Use of Sanitisers Because They Contain Alcohol

India, despite its escalating number of positive coronavirus cases, reopened its public spaces—including temples and malls—in parts of the country, as part of its phased exit from the lockdown. While this ‘Unlock 1.0’ is a decision shrouded in controversy, some temples in the cities of Mathura and Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh are protesting this reopening for the strangest reason: they refuse to use alcohol-based sanitisers in the temple premises. They expressed their disapproval for the sanitisers—which are mandatory as per government rules—as they contain alcohol.

A priest in a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal said that he was against the use of sanitisers at places of worship. “I am against the sanitiser machine in the temples because it contains alcohol,” he told ANI. “When we cannot enter a temple after drinking alcohol, then how can we sanitise our hand with alcohol and go inside?” The priest further said he would accept hand washing basins with soaps outside all the temples to maintain hygiene. “Anyway, a person enters the temple only after taking a bath at home,” he added.

In Indore in Madhya Pradesh, temples were sanitised over the weekend, using products made without alcohol. "Sanitisation has been done without using alcohol-based sanitisers given the sanctity of the temple,” Indore MP Shankar Lalwani said while speaking to the media. “No religious place in Indore will be opened at the moment, but it will be opened in one or two days.”

The government has issued several guidelines for visiting temples which not only include the basic coronavirus guidelines—a minimum distance of six feet between people, use of face masks, and frequent handwashing and sanitation—but also additional rules such as no physical offerings, no touching of idols or holy books, and footwear to be preferably removed in visitors’ cars instead of right outside the temples. Additionally, it is recommended to bring a personal prayer mat which devotees can take back with them, and to not invite choirs or singing groups.

Some temples in Mathura and Vrindavan would, instead, install LED screens outside the temple premises to facilitate “darshan for the devotees”. Other temples in Mathura, like the ones run by ISKCON, will be opened up after June 15 after they’re done training their staff and making arrangements inside the temple premises as per the latest guidelines.

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