By Felix Anthony –
Imphal: Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal Archdiocese led the prayer service organized by the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on 7 June to seek divine intervention in the fight against the pandemic in the State.
The inter-faith prayer meeting was held at the Western gate of historic Kangla at Imphal.
Before leading the prayers, the Archbishop thanked the Chief Minister for bringing together representatives from all religions under one roof. “I express my sincere gratitude to the CM and his team for all his efforts to control the spread of the virus in the State. Let us extend all our support to help administration in our collective fight against the deadly virus”, said the Archbishop.
Quoting from the Bible, the Archbishop prayed, “O Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry for help during this critical period of lifetime come to you. Save us and save our land and keep all the diseases away from our homes.”
Along with the Archbishop, spiritual leaders from Shree Govindaji Temple Board, All Manipur Christian Organization, Jamiat-Ul-Ulema, Lainingthou Sanamahi Temple Board, Tingko Ragwang Chaprik, Giani Gurudwara Prabandahak Committee, Shree Digambar Jain Samaj and Kabui Poupei Chapriak Fom prayed for God’s intervention for protection and healing of Manipur and the world from the global disease.
The prayer meeting, which was attended by climate activists, Members of Parliament Maharaj Sanajaoba Leishemba and Dr. RK Ranjan, and several MLAs of the Stare, was held with total adherence to SoPs of Covid.
Thanking the spiritual leaders for their participation in the prayer meeting, the CM said the inter-faith prayer was organized to promote unity among people of all religions in the state to fight the virus. “With daily increase in the number of active cases and Covid-related deaths in the State, I felt this need for an inter-faith prayer meeting to bring unity and oneness among the people to fight the virus with spiritual strength”, said the Chief Minister.
The State medical department is conducting 9000 daily tests and the positivity rate is eight percent, which is above the national rate. Manipur has 9184 active cases and the Covid-related death toll is 881.