With swine. People suffering from flu or showing flu-like symptoms have been advised to stay home and temples will put up medical camps with doctors and nurses on duty to screen devotees at the entry point.
A day before the festival, some temples will be taking out tableaux on swine flu to spread awareness about the disease. And while some are even arranging for masks, most others have only beefed up security.
At Birla Mandir, which expects a crowd of around 2 lakh people, it could be a low-key affair this year because of the swine flu fear. V K Mishra, administrator, Birla Mandir, said, "There will be some impact on the number of people coming to temple. I would advise all those with symptoms of swine flu like a cold and fever to not come. There will be two medical camps in the temple. Devotees showing any signs of swine flu will be taken inside through a different route. We have not arranged for masks as yet, but might order for some.''
About the two tableaux on swine flu, Mishra added, "A doctor and nurse on the Jhanki would be wearing masks. And posters would carry information about the symptoms of swine flu to educate people. We will also list the dos and don'ts for people infected with the H1N1 virus. While ambulances will be stationed, our only request to those infected is to stay home.''
At Chhattarpur Mandir, arrangements for the midnight prayer and bhajans are on. "We cannot predict how many people will come and nobody can be stopped from visiting the temple. All necessary arrangements have been made for Janmashtami. We have a diagnostic centre inside the temple,'' said a spokesperson.
While Surendra Nath, a priest at Kalkaji temple, said they were burning neem leaves to burn all impurities, Jhandewalan temple has not made any special arrangements in view of the swine flu. "We haven't had a meeting about it yet. The management will on Thursday decide what precautions will be taken. As far as security is concerned, there will be heavy police deployment on Janmashtami.''
Meanwhile, since Iskon temple in Pune has cancelled pandal and cultural programmes on account of swine flu, programmes in Delhi have also been called off. "We are not having any gathering in Delhi either. We will ensure the crowd that comes for darshan does not collect at one place. While last year around 10 lakh devotees visited the temple, the number may go down by a few lakhs this year. Around 450 personnel from Delhi Police and 500 private security will be deployed on Friday,'' said Vrajendra Nandan Das, national communication director, Iskon.
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