All-faith front backs Telangana's corona fight

HYDERABAD: Religious leaders of various faiths came together to form a multi-religious forum in Hyderabad and issued a joint appeal to the people to adhere to social distancing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new forum is called 'Dharmik Jan Morcha' (DJM) and it consists of Federation of Telugu Churches (comprising both Catholics and Protestants), Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Shankar Mutt, Satya Sai Baba Trust, Chinna Jeeyar Swamy followers and others.
Forum co-ordinator Anthony Raj Thumma said that DJM was mainly constituted to instil confidence among people in the state and to fight and win the war over the novel coronavirus.
Leaders call for social distancing
He said, "We urge followers of all religions to rigorously maintain social distancing as it is an essential preventive measure to defeat the virus." Invoking Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, he said DJM would work for re-establishment of humanity and universal brotherhood in the society. Among the signatories to the public appeal were Mohammed Sadiq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, I Krishna Rao of Shankar Mutt and Venkat Rao of Satya Sai Baba temples.
The religious leaders also highlighted that measures such as social distancing, lockdown and curfew in some areas to arrest the spread of coronavirus must continue. "It is a must, therefore, to stop all social and religious gatherings, any religious congregations, and community and family functions," they said in unison.
The leaders said Covid-19 had taken a heavy toll on economy, industry, tourism, hospitality and travel sectors. "In these dark times, religious groups and faith-based organisations are supporting the impoverished communities by providing them with food, water, face masks, hand sanitisers and sanitary kits," they said. The morcha leaders said they would appreciate these efforts and encourage networking of social and religious groups to see that the marginalised sections are not left out.