Coimbatore : The authorities of Kamatchipuri Adhinam, a temple in Coimbatore, have consecrated ‘Corona Devi’, a black stone idol of 1.5 feet tall, to protect people from the virus. The temple management is planning to organize Maha Yagam soon with special poojas to the deity for 48 days.

This comes at a time when when the second wave of the pandemic has caused untold suffering, with healthcare workers battling physical exhaustion and mental fatigue. The government is also battling hard to keep liquid oxygen, vaccines and other drugs in stock.

However, the local authorities said that the people in the surrounding areas have been informed not to visit the temple as lockdown restrictions are enforced.

Anand Bharathi, the manager of Kamatchipuri Adhinam, said consecrating deities to protect people from deadly diseases have been in practice for many years. He cited Plague Mariamman temple in the vicinity as an example.

“People are affected by Covid-19. So, our Guruji informed us in our dream to do something like this to save people. The consecration ceremony was held yesterday (Tuesday) and we started offering the poojas from today (Wednesday),” he said.

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 34,875 new Covid-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 16,99,225. With 365 casualties, the state’s Covid-19 toll rose to 18,734.