GUWAHATI: Covid protocols have gone for a toss once again with
Holi celebrations taking centre stage while the
virus threat hangs heavy in the air.
The city went full throttle in celebrating the spring festival of colours with little regard for masks and physical distance on Monday. Seats of Vaishnavism like Batadrava Than and Barpeta Satra spilled over with enthusiasts soaking in the festivities of the season. Youths moved around in hired vehicles sprinkling colours.
Suweri, observed on Monday, is the biggest congregation of people during Holi in Barpeta Satra, which marks the end of the Doul Utsav. Hundreds of revellers gathered at the Barpeta Satra premises like other years with little regard for the threat of the virus.
“People celebrated Holi with great fervour. Since the positivity rate continues to be low in
Assam and election campaigns are on without any fear of fresh infection, the people took it easy,” said Kuldeep Das, a youth from Barpeta.
Last year, the Holi celebrations took place before any Covid positive case was detected in Assam. This time, however, the situation is a little more worrying. It was seen that the celebrations all over the state, including Barpeta, were held flouting advisories issued by religious institutions. Satra authorities had advised the use of masks, but only half of the gathering had followed the rule. There was no question of maintaining physical distance when the Holi songs were being sung.
In Assam, about 40 Covid positive cases were detected on Monday and the positivity rate stood at around 0.5. The number of positive cases seems to be low, if compared to states like Maharashtra.
Nevertheless, in a state with less population than the bigger states, the number of positive cases has doubled over a month. “From 20 positive cases detected daily almost a month ago, it has gone to about 40. It seems that exposure to the virus has doubled in Assam,” said Assam NHM director Lakshmanan S.