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Jun 4: Belur Mutt, the global headquarters of Ramakrishna Mutt and Ramakrishna Mission, has decided to throw open its gates to the devotees from June 15 after putting in place all safety measures required to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The gates of the sprawling premises of the mutt set up by Swami Vivekananada at Belur near here was closed since the lockdown was announced in March by the Centre. The Mutt has devotees from across the globe.

The secretary of Belur Mutt Ramakrishna Mutt and Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Suvirananda said in a statement that as the easing down of lockdown measures announced by the Centre and the state did not indicate the threat caused by COVID-19 pandemic is over, the authorities thought it prudent to put in place all the measures required before opening the gates of the Mutt and all RKM centres in the country for the scores of devotees.

The statement was issued on June 1, the day religious places of worship were thrown open by the West Bengal government.

"We had to think about both aspects - the issue of public health and also the wish of our devotees for having a darshan of the shrines of Swami Vivekananda, Sri Sarada Maa and Ramamrishna Paramahansa. But we believe spirituality and sceintific temparament must go hand in hand," he told reporters on Thursday.

"Therefore it is imperative for us to consult experts and put in place adequate arrangement and infrastructure" before opening the (Belur Mutt) gates," he said.

The senior monk said the timing of the opening and closure of the shrine and all other details conforming the health protocol and guidelines will be announced before opening date.

The Mutt complex had become totally out of bound for visitors from March 24 when the lockdown was clamped. There was restricted entry to it since May 16.

Ujire, May 7: A child was killed and four people were injured after a car they were travelling in rammed a stationary truck near Ujire, on Tuesday night.

The deceased is nine-month-old Madhavi, the daughter of Pramod, a resident of Panyalu Ujire.

Pramod, his wife Ashwini and relatives Mamatha and Swati, have been grievously injured in the incident, and are being treated in a private hospital.

The incident took place around 11pm. According to police, the victims had gone to a relative’s house at Vamadapadavu. On reaching Ujire, Pramod wanted to stop the car beside the road, but failed to notice the stationary truck.

The car was completely mangled as a result of the impact. A case has been registered at the Dharmasthala police station in this regard.

Bengaluru, Feb 26: Karnataka Police and intelligence have been asked to be on alert in the wake of communal violence in Delhi and take preemptive measures, state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said here on Wednesday.

"We have been keeping a close watch on the developments after the Delhi incident. I have instructed my officers to be on alert and take precautionary actions rather than actions after the incidents," Bommai told media.

"The day before yesterday we had a high-level meeting...we are having a close watch," he added.

Violence erupted in Delhi on Sunday evening after groups protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those supporting it indulged in stone pelting at each other.

The confrontation soon turned communal and the violence spread to other areas of northeast Delhi including Chand Bagh, Mustafabad, Brijpuri, Shiv Vihar and Noor Ilahi on Monday and Tuesday in which at least 20 persons, including a police head constable, have died and over 200 have been injured.