Jharkhand has banned the rituals of Chhath Puja, one of the largest community festivals in the state, in public ponds, rivers, lakes, dams and reservoirs. This has been done in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said the order issued by the state department of disaster management on Sunday.
The main rituals of Chhath Puja will be performed on November 20 at night and on November 21 in the morning of this year. Every year, massive crowds gather in various bodies of water throughout Jharkhand to worship the setting sun and then the rising sun the next morning.
Local urban agencies arrange for the puja by cleaning ghats, deploying security personnel and divers to bodies of water, installing lights on roads, and arranging for changing rooms and toilets on ghats every year. Ranchi Municipal Corporation has already started cleaning up the ghats.
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However, in its order, the disaster management department said: “It is not possible to ensure compliance with the national directive of social distancing standard while performing Chhath Puja in waters of public ponds, lakes, rivers, dams and reservoirs. .. The ritual of sacred bathing in common water bodies and staying in the water is a cause for concern as it will amount to sharing the water, increasing the chances of spreading the infection as well as causing water contamination. ” .
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