Varanasi: Thousands of passengers who came for the religious visit at Shri Kashi Vishwanath have been stranded in lockdown Banaras. On Monday, about 950 South Indian pilgrims were sent back to their homes.

Neither thermal screening nor social distance was followed while sending the passengers back. The situation was such that there were 45 passengers in 45 seats in a bus. 12 buses were flagged off at 4 in the morning while eight buses were sent late in the evening on Monday.

In addition, 12 pilgrims were sent from two cruisers. The departure of the passengers took place from Sonarpura under the supervision of ACM first Ramasjivan Maurya and CO Balupur Sudhir Jaiswal, according to a report.

According to sources, the buses sent by the administration were charged four thousand rupees per passenger. There are about 250 pilgrims in different ashrams who do not have the money to pay the fare. They are worried about how they will reach their homes.

Staying at Sonarpura and nearby monasteries and guest houses

The buses departed on Monday took them to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala. All these South Indian pilgrims were staying at monasteries and guest houses located in Sonarpura and adjoining areas. These include Andhra Star Ashram, Bicycle Swami Ashram, Gaussian Monastery, KK Guest House, Kumar Swami Monastery, Kashi Annapurna Yatri Bhawan etc.

Coronavirus lockdown: Muslims help perform last rites of Hindu woman in Indore