MP Tourism Minister conducts puja at Indore airport to ward off COVID-19

Minister for Tourism and Culture in Madhya Pradesh, Usha Thakur, was spotted performing puja to ward off COVID-19 at Indore Airport on Friday. Thakur was performing 'puja' before the statue of Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar.

The minister, who was not wearing a face mask, was spotted clapping and singing before the deity's statue. Thakur was joined by Airport Director Aryama Sanyas and other staff members in performing the 'puja' to ward off coronavirus.

Thakur has been often seen in public spaces without a mask, according to her critics. She had earlier told the news channel, that she does not wear a face mask because she performs 'havan' daily and also recites the Hanuman Chalisa.

Thakur had earlier claimed that performing 'havan' using a cow dung cake can keep a house sanitised for 12 hours.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh is amongst the 10 states that account for nearly 84 per cent of daily cases, according to the Health Ministry update.

Madhya Pradesh recorded 4,882 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. The addition of these cases has taken the infection tally to 3,27,220. More than 4,000 people have died due to the deadly virus in Madhya Pradesh.

On Friday, India reported 1,45,384 infections. This was the highest-single state spike in the country. The addition of these cases have pushed the total case count to over 1.3 crore.

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