The Ministry of Culture has approved opening of 820 centrally protected monuments under the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) which have places of worship from today. The Union Minister of Culture has said that all the protocols issued by the Home Ministry and Health Ministry will be followed in these monuments.
In its order, Culture Ministry has said that ASI will ensure that preventive measures as stipulated in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to contain the spread of COVID-19 in religious places are effectively put in place and scrupulously followed while opening and managing these monuments.
The Ministry of Culture also asked the ASI to share the list of these 820 monuments to the concerned States so that any state or district specific orders with regard to containment and prevention of spread of COVID-19 are also comprehensively implemented. There are 3,691 Centrally-protected monuments and archaeological sites maintained by the ASI which were shut from 17th of March in view of COVID-19.