Govt bans excesses, allows only rituals during pujas

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the festive season, the state government on Thursday issued common guidelines for celebrating Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Laxmi Puja, which fall in the period from September to November. The festivals will only see the observance of rituals without the participation of public.
The guidelines issued by chief secretary Asit Tripathy read, “All types of pujas shall be conducted in indoor-like condition only for the observance of rituals without public participation, pomp and grandeur. Pandals shall be covered on three sides. The fourth side shall also be covered in a way not to allow any public view of the idols. There shall be no darshan by public and devotees.”
While district magistrates are authorized to issue the necessary permission for conducting pujas in pandals in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the commissionerate of police will do so.
The state government order said the height of the idols of various goddesses will be less than four feet, while the use of public address system at the puja pandals has also been restricted. Also, there will be no musical or entertainment programmes during the pujas.
Only seven persons including the organizers, priests and support staff are allowed to remain present in the pandals at a time.
The guidelines further said the persons present in the puja pandals must follow the Covid-19 rules of social distancing, use of mask, personal hygiene and sanitation issued by the Centre, the state government and the local administration.
The state government has also made it clear that there will be no idol immersion processions this year. The idols will be immersed in artificial ponds to be created by the local administration.
The district collectors, municipal commissioners and the police commissionerate have been asked to strictly enforce the guidelines.
“Any person violating these rules will be liable to be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Covid regulations,” Tripathy said in the order.
The officials said the guidelines were issued based on an order of the Orissa high court, which had on August 31 approved the conduct of Durga Puja in Cuttack city by adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines.
The HC had issued the order while hearing a PIL filed by the Balubazar Puja Committee in Cuttack.
While Durga puja is quite popular across the state, especially in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, Laxmi Puja is celebrated with pomp and gaiety in Dhenkanal.
Similarly, towns like Bhadrak and Jajpur are famous for Kali Puja.
As preparations for Durga Puja starts well in advance in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the commissionerate police has already held meetings with various puja committees for low-key celebrations. It had already restricted activities like visit of public to mandaps, door-to-door collection of donations and immersion and Ravan Podi earlier.