The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) is calling for the immediate reopening of all natural watercourses including rivers and streams.
Secretary-General of the SDMS, Vidya Maharaj wrote to the Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh yesterday citing the religious need for access to the waterways.
Beaches and rivers were closed since last April as COVID-19 numbers spiked after the long Easter weekend. On December 20 Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced the restricted opening hours of beaches from 5 am to midday.
“When beaches and rivers were closed, several religious ceremonies of the Hindus had to be curtailed and/or modified,” Maharaj said.
According to Hindu belief, it is customary for male mourners to go to a waterway and shave their heads after the loss of a family member. Maharaj said that this was adjusted when rivers were closed.
“For example, the rituals of ‘dasgaath’, shaving ceremony that takes place on the tenth day after cremation, is usually performed at a river, but had to be modified to comply with the public health protocols of the pandemic,” he said.
“The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha and the Hindu community willingly abided with this restriction and sought to find alternative means of performing this ceremony,” Maharaj said.
He said that specific temples were designated to help with this issue on the understanding that it was a temporary measure.
“Today (yesterday) the Sanantam Dharma maha Sabha wished to ask that you consider opening up the rivers for public use, even with similar restrictions to beaches,” he said.
“The dasgaath ceremony is a very sombre one and does not involve the use of any alcohol nor does it promote a party atmosphere.
The ceremony includes a small number of persons and the time required for its completion is usually under four hours,” Maharaj said.
“In other words, if access is granted to rivers for the performance of this ceremony, there is reasonably little to no risk that it would be a spreader event for the COVID-19 virus,” he said.
The SDMS said that it was “certain” that if the request was granted, it would not upset the balance of living with the virus.