Religious places in Maharashtra, which were shut since the imposition of COVID-19 lockdown in March, reopened on Monday.
Devotees, visiting religious places, will have to follow strict COVID-19 guidelines.
Many devotees were seen visiting the iconic Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai since morning.
The opposition BJP in the state had been seeking reopening of the religious places and earlier questioned the Thackeray government’s decision to not reopen places of worship at a time when restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen.
The issue had also led to bitter exchange of words between Thackeray and state Governor B S Koshyari, who reminded the Shiv Sena chief of his Hindutva credentials and asked if he had turned secular.
Hitting back, Thackeray had said his Hindutva did not require a certificate from the governor or anyone. “As imposing lockdown all of a sudden was not right, revoking it completely at once will also not be a good thing,” the Chief Minister had said.
