The second wave may be behind us and Bengaluru may have unlocked, but the coronavirus is still around. This has meant that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the city’s calendar for the second consecutive year as fears of an imminent third wave has resulted in the Karnataka government banning all public gatherings.
The Lalbagh Flower Show, scheduled for Independence Day, has been cancelled. This is the third time in a row that the event had to be cancelled – the first time in its over-a-century-long history. “The show usually attracts over six lakh footfalls, which is definitely not advisable in the current scenario. So, we have cancelled the event. The show was cancelled once during the plague and twice during World War II, but never three consecutive times,” said M. Jagadeesh, Joint Director, Parks and Gardens, Horticulture Department.
Independence Day celebrations are also expected to be low key. “All events will be held strictly with COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour. We are awaiting guidelines from the Union and State governments for I-Day celebrations,” said Police Commissioner Kamal Pant.
The pandemic has cast a shadow on the annual St. Mary’s Feast, held in August-September, and the Ganesha festival, which falls on September 10 this year.
J.A. Kanthraj, spokesperson, Archdiocese of Bangalore, said, “In 2020, we only held the mass, which was streamed online, with no car festival. This year, we had plans to revert to normal festivities, but with fears of a third wave and government guidelines that ban public gatherings, we are keeping our fingers crossed. If the present guidelines continue, the festival will be held like last year – mass streamed online and no car festival.”
Though the city’s civic body initially banned public installation of Ganesha idols in 2020, pressure from within the Karnataka government pushed them to relax norms, allowing for one public installation per ward. However, the response had been lukewarm.
Senior civic officials said it won’t be wise to allow large pandals in Bengaluru. The civic body may follow last year’s formula of allowing only one pandal per ward, with no entertainment programmes that are usually part of the festivities.
Bengaluru International Film Festival, postponed twice, has now been put off indefinitely. “We announced that the festival was to be held in April 2021, but were hit by the second wave. With reports of a third wave round the corner, we have put off the festival indefinitely,” said Sunil Puranik, Chairman, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, organisers of the event.
The pandemic has already blighted two editions of Karaga and Poo Pallakki Utsava, and pushed key calendar events, like Ramanavami Sangeeta Utsava and Bangalore Literature Festival, online.
“We are observing a rise in cases in Kerala and Maharashtra, which share a border with Karnataka. Fears of an imminent third wave are real. The Indian Medical Association has also advised governments to prevent ‘super-spreader events’. In this scenario, it is unlikely that any public gathering will be allowed till the end of 2021,” said a senior civic official.