Mumbai will witness lukewarm New Year celebrations with the Maharashtra government instructing people to celebrate within the confines of their homes and refrain from unnecessarily traveling at night. Setting off firecrackers on New Year’s Eve has also been banned.
Hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars in the state will remain open only until 11 p.m. on December 31. While large gatherings cannot be held in public places, families can hold parties in residential places as long as it is a small group and the rules of social distancing are upheld. .
The nightly prohibitive orders, which took effect in the city on December 22 – when a mutant strain of coronavirus was detected in the UK – will remain in effect from 11 p.m. These orders will be valid until January 6.
While the government has warned against unnecessary travel, people can drive after 11pm as long as there are no more than four people in a car or more than two people on a bicycle.
“The hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars will remain open tomorrow until 11 at night. There are no restrictions for people to go out to buy medicine and visit friends and family (after 11pm). It is forbidden to gather five or more people in public places, ”said Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh.
On December 28, the state government had issued a notice on New Year’s celebrations, in which it had asked people to celebrate simply within the confines of their homes.
“On December 31, people should not congregate in large numbers on beaches, parks and public places. Care must be taken to maintain social distancing, ”the guidelines stated. The notice added that as a large number of people gather at Gateway of India, Marine Lines, Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Chowpatty in Mumbai and other major cities in the state on the day, people should take special care of their health considering the Covid. -19 pandemic.
The guidelines further said that while it is a tradition in many homes to visit places of worship on the first day of the New Year, care must be taken to avoid large congregations in these places. The advisory added that in the context of the pandemic, older people and children under the age of 10 are discouraged from leaving their homes.
Typically on New Years Eve, restaurants are given an extension to stay open until 5 a.m. the next day. Due to the pandemic and the overnight curfew from December 25 to January 5, authorities have ordered restaurants not to remain open beyond 11 p.m. in Mumbai.
“We had requested an extension until 1.30 am, but we received no response from the authorities. We have now asked permission to at least allow the kitchens to remain open until then as we will receive takeaway orders from people who are celebrating at home, ”said Shivanand Shetty, President of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association.
He added that since the night curfew was imposed, it is unclear whether the kitchens are also expected to close by then.
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