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States » EastPosted at: Oct 11 2020 12:14PM


Festive spirit permeating air despite Covid scare

Kolkata, Oct 11 (UNI) As the white autumn clouds float in and blooming lotuses smile
upon stretches of water bodies lining lush fields of Kaash flowers, and the tunes of
new music wafting around our ears so as to welcome her with an extravagant
symphony, the dawn of Goddess Durga's arrival beckons us.
With less than two weeks to go for Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the world for
Bengalis, no matter where they live, preparations have already begun across the city.
With the start of the festival season, the fear of contracting Coronavirus seems to
have disappeared among the people of Kolkata.
Many market places in Kolkata are witnessing a surge in footfall amid the Coronavirus
pandemic.
People are flocking to Gariahat, Hatibagan, Dharmatala markets for Pujo shopping.
The crowd is expected to increase in the coming days.
Durga Puja is nothing short of a carnival, with breathtakingly beautiful pandals prepared
across cities, the reverberating sound of the dhaak, clusters of brilliant white kaash phool,
people adorned in vibrant attire, and a whole gastronomic celebration.
Bengalis get into the festive mood right from the time of Mahalaya. While puja pandals
get their final touches, people start buying new clothes and make plans for the festival,
although the celebrations are likely to be different this year amid the pandemic.
At a time when West Bengal is recording an average of more than 3,000 fresh cases
daily the Mamata Banerjee led state government will face yet another tough challenge to
ensure the virus doesn’t cost more than the celebrations.
At the Puja Committee meet chaired by Chief Minister along with Police top brass gave
a green signal to all to this year’s celebrations despite the pandemic.
Ms Banerjee said pandals have to be open-air spaces. All sides of the mandap need to
be open. If the sides cannot be kept open, the roof has to be done away with so that
fresh air can circulate.
She said all the people inside a pandal, managing it, have to wear masks. The organiser
also needs to ensure that all visitors are wearing them. Even if not wearing a mask, the
mouth and nose have to be kept covered by a cloth. The Puja organisers and the police
have to together ensure masks are available at pandals so that anyone not wearing a mask
can be handed one.
The chief minister said visitors have to be given sanitisers to rub on their palms, and this
needs to be done much before they enter a pandal. To ensure there is no crowding inside
a pandal, there has to be separate entrance and exit ways. To ensure there is no crowding
outside, barricades have to be positioned and places marked for people to stand in.
She said to ensure everyone follows the rules, there needs to be more than the usual
number of volunteers, and masks, sanitisers and face shields need to be provided for
all of them.
“I would request everyone to avoid crowding during anjali, prasad distribution and sindoor
khela. People have to be divided up into small groups for administering anjali. The same
rule should be followed for sindoor khela. It would be better if the people carry flowers and
belpata from their homes. Housing society pujas too have to follow these rules,”
Ms Banerjee said.
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symphony, the dawn of Goddess Durga's arrival beckons us.

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