NILAMBAZAR, Oct 10 - Durga Puja, one of the biggest festivals in Assam, would be a low key affair this year due to the COVID-19 situation. In this regard, the Karimganj district administration held a meeting with various puja committees and other government officials on how to organise the celebrations amid the pandemic.
Chairing a meeting on Friday, District Development Commissioner Ranjit Kumar Laskar urged the puja committees to keep the festivities low key. Underscoring the need for strictly adhering to COVID-19 protocol, Laskar urged the puja committees to avoid gatherings, and ask devotees to maintain social distance and wear masks. The DDC clearly stated that no one should be allowed to enter the puja premises without wearing masks or face covers and screening tests. �Thermal screening of the devotees is mendatory before entering the puja pandal and CC camera must be installed by the puja committees,�he added.
Laying stress on the spiritual aspect of the celebration in view of the prevailing situation, Laskar said the puja pandals must be less decorated or illuminated and the deities must be installed at a vantage position so that devotees can pay obeisance from all corners. Laskar asked the puja committees to shun melas in and around the pandals to prevent gatherings.
The DDC asked the puja committees to train sufficient number of volunteers who must undergo swab test and deploy them for regulating gatherings, traffic control and for security purpose, as the maximum number of police personnel are currently engaged with COVID-19 and law and order duties.
Laskar said there should not be any sitting arrangements inside the pandals and that prasad must be distributed in an organised way to avoid crowding. He also asked the puja committees to restrict the use of loudspeakers till 10 pm as per the direction of the Supreme Court. The meeting was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner NH Gautam, MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, BJP unit president Subrata Bhattacharjee, Joint Director Health Services Dr AK Daitary, Zilla parishad Chairman Asish Nath.
