Shias mourn Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala. (Express photo: Shashi Ghosh) Continuing with its restrictions on religious events due to ongoing pandemic, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has banned processions for Muharram in the city on August 19.
In the official order, Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar said that on the occasion of the festival, devotees organise a procession to mark the occasion and therefore βit is necessary to take measures to check the spread of Covid-19. For this, public functions and festivals are being celebrated in a simpler way from 2020. The same needs to be followed during Muharram.β
There is ban on social and religious functions so the processions for Muharram cannot be taken out this year, municipal commissioner said adding the members of Muslim community should have their functions of Muharram in their home by strictly following the covid appropriate behaviour. The prayers can be carried out virtually, he added.
The existing restrictions due to the pandemic will not be relaxed for Muharram and has to be strictly followed by everyone, Kumar said.
Meanwhile, the Ganesh mandals in the city have responded to an appeal by the civic body to celebrate the ten day Ganesh festival in a simple way. The representatives of Ganesh mandals on Thursday held a meeting with officials of PMC and local police on deciding the strategy for the festival.
The state government has banned procession and decoration for the Ganesh festival citing fear of a third wave. The Ganesh mandals have decided to keep the celebrations simple and skip the processions. βWe thank the Ganesh mandals for positively responding to the PMC appeal of not having a grand celebration of the traditional Ganesh festival. They have been urged to telecast the Aarti and rituals through the internet so that devotees witness them sitting at home,β said mayor Murlidhar Mohol.
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