Liyakat Shah
New Delhi – After being closed for over 20 days owing to the sudden rise in the number of cases in Delhi, the historic Jama Masjid will reopen for congregational prayers (namaz) from July 4, Shahi Imam of the mosque Syed Ahmed Bukhari said. The mosque was closed on June 11 in view of the “critical” conditions in the city due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, till June 30. Earlier, the mosque had reopened on June 8 after a gap of over two months with the government allowing further relaxations as part of Unlock 1.0, the first phase of a calibrated exit from the coronavirus lockdown. Bukhari said that the decision to reopen the mosque was taken after consulting people and experts. “Under unlock 1.0, almost everything has opened and normal activities have resumed. We took this decision to open the mosque for people to offer namaz as the scare of the virus has lessened and awareness about safeguards against it has increased,” He said that safety precautions like maintaining social distancing, wearing protective gear and sanitisation will be followed to prevent people from catching the infection.
