The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm every year all over India. Majorly in Maharashtra, the people have a different connection to the festival. However, this year, things have changed and how. The reason behind it is known to all and it is widespread of novel coronavirus pandemic. This year the festival will happen but with certain limitations and guidelines. The state home department has issued guidelines with regards to the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations which is in the last week of August. The department has asked mandals to give darshan virtually via Facebook live, websites and other online platforms.
Speaking about the same, senior IPS officer Amitabh Gupta said, “We have come up with the guidelines keeping in mind about the safety of people. This year people need to take darshan from their homes and not step out. Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival where a lot of crowd gathers which might result in the rise of COVID-19 cases. Precautions are taken from the initial stage.” Moreover, as per the department, the idols in the mandals will not be bigger than 4 feet and the idols brought at home should not be taller than 2 feet.
Gupta who is also the principal secretary (home special) has announced that there will be no gathering at the time of the festival. The mandals across the state have been told to organise blood and plasma camps. It will also spread awareness about the preventive measures one must take in the time of coronavirus. “The immersion process will also not have a crowd in huge numbers. The eco-friendly idols can be immersed at home and the children and senior citizens must take extra precautions”, added Amitabh.
Besides this, the IPS officer earlier went out an extra mile to help the people during the pandemic. He not only helped the stranded migrants reach their homes but also led several distribution drives of ration and essential commodities for the needy people. Well, by taking this step of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi this year, Amitabh Gupta hopes that people will abide by the rules and not stay safe during the celebrations.
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