Lucknow: No high tea at Raj Bhawan on Independence Day

LUCKNOW: The novel coronavirus pandemic effect has dampened the much awaited high tea on the sprawling lawns of Raj Bhawan on the occasion of Independence Day as governor Anandiben Patel has pruned the guest list and invited only a select few.
The traditional high tea has been cancelled and converted into an informal meeting with VVIPs of the state in the afternoon of Independence day on August 15. It has been done mainly to follow the novel coronavirus protocol and to maintain the social distancing norm. While over six ministers of the Yogi government are down with Covid 19 and recuperating in different hospitals, a cabinet minister Kamal Rani has expired.
The governor has invited Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and two deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, while almost all ministers have been dropped from the guest list. Speaker of the state Legislative Assembly Hriday Narayan Dikshit has also been invited. Sources in Raj Bhawan said that even senior IAS officers might not get the invitation. Several IAS officers have received the greeting card of Independence Day from Raj Bhawan, but not the invite.
So far, chief secretary RK Tewari and chairman of the Revenue Board Deepak Trivedi have been invited. They might be joined by a few senior colleagues. IAS offcers of additional chief secretary rank and below may not be invited to the informal meeting which will be organised inside the Blue Room Hall this year.
Some top police authorities, including DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthy and a few senior Army officers might also be invited to the event. However, no invite has been forwarded to journalists.
Invitation from the Raj Bahwan is seen as a status symbol of sorts. But the pandemic and the rising number of Covid cases in the state have compelled the governor to change the venue from lawns to the hall. An official spokesman of the Raj Bhawan confirmed that invited guests would spend 15 minutes with the governor.