Durga Puja Pandals in Uttar Pradesh have now been allowed to hold religious and cultural events in the open with established safety protocols. The Yogi Adityanth government has said that the celebrations can now take place outside but all the guidelines for coronavirus like social distancing and wearing of masks must be followed.
A restriction on the maximum number of people to be allowed on events taking place in an enclosed space has also been imposed in line with the Centre's guidelines for Unlock 5.0. Only 50 per cent of the hall's capacity and up to a maximum of 200 people, will be allowed to attend the celebrations.
The decision has been welcomed by the Durga Committees statewide who have already started preparing for the festival.
"We spent the entire Thursday night, drawing up plans for the Durga Puja celebrations because we have less than a fortnight to go. We are thankful to the Chief Minister for allowing us to hold the Durga Puja celebrations," said Anand Banerjee of a Durga Puja committee in Jankipuram area.
Notably, Bengali Welfare Association of Prayagraj had filed a plea in the Allahabad High Court against the Uttar Pradesh government's decision of no allowing public events to celebrate Durga Puja in the state owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the high court refused to intervene in the matter and junked the plea. The petition especially demanded public celebration of Durga Puja in Prayagraj.
The high court said that the administration would take a decision in accordance with the guidelines of the central government and the petitioners could approach the district magistrate. The court also remarked that the DM would take the decision in this regard as per the latest coronavirus guidelines.
Last month, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that in view of coronavirus (COVID-19), public events to celebrate Durga Puja will not be allowed in the state.