UP CM Yogi Adityanath offers prayers on first day of Navratri

Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 17 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday offered prayers at Devi Patan temple on the first day of Navratri.
In Kanpur, devotees offered their prayers at the city's Vaibhav Lakshmi and Durga temple.
"We thank the government for re-opening the temple. All COVID-19 measures are being taken by us and the temple is being sanitized regularly," said temple priest, Mahant Anand.
"All devotees should wear masks. No offering of flowers, etc is being accepted," he further said.
A devotee said, "There is good arrangement here. A sanitization machine is there and all are wearing masks. No offerings are being accepted as a precaution."
In Prayagraj, prayers were performed in Goddess Durga temples while following precautionary measures in view of COVID-19.
The celebrations of Sharad (autumn) Navratri involve worshipping Goddess Durga and her nine forms. The festival is celebrated in different ways across the country. Over the next nine days, devotees offer their prayers to Goddess Durga and observe fasts.
Also known as Sharad Navratri, the occasion is believed to mark Goddess Durga's victory over demon Mahishasura, signifying the victory of good over evil.
The 10th day of Sharad Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami.(ANI)