Tripura government has issued a fresh set of additional guidelines for the Puja organizers and people associated with it in an attempt to contain the spread of covid 19 as well as to regulate unnecessary formation of crowd during the ensuing Puja days.
The guidelines strictly dealt with public safety and emphasised on the need of putting up all the possible safety norms for the people participating in the festival.
According to a press statement issued by the government of Tripura, the need for additional guidelines emerged after the centre issued guidelines for the Puja. Since some additions were needed to be made with the existing guidelines the additions were made accordingly.
According to the new guidelines, the Puja organizers and priests–Purohits who will offer the Puja along with volunteers manning the pandals and organizers who will remain in pandals have been asked to get tested before “Panchami”. Apart from that, the health department has been given the liberty to arrange special testing teams in close vicinity of the Puja pandals for random tests.
Moreover, the Puja organizers are asked to arrange adequate posters, placards, standees and AV media to create awareness among Puja hoppers.
Among the prohibitions, the guidelines strictly said no to any kind of procession while bringing the idols to the pandals. The pandals are directed to be kept open from all sides, if the pandal is roofed all other sides have to be kept open and if all sides are closed then the roof should be open.
To contain crowd formation inside the pandals, the Pushpanjali ritual has been directed to be offered through microphones. All the required things such as flowers are needed to be brought by the devotees themselves. The auspicious ritual of “Sindur Khela” would be also done in groups of 10 to 15 people at a time in regular intervals.
Moreover, the guidelines also directed the organizers not to organize any fair to mark the festival but some stalls could be opened at some distance from the pandals. Apart from that, adequate markings defining a distance of 2 meters to guide the hoppers to maintain social distancing, prohibition in spitting and arrival people who belong to the high risk age groups and physical conditions were some of the significant points of the guidelines.
On the security perspective, CCTV surveillance had been asked to be installed everywhere to notice crowd and barring household Pujas no Pujas were allowed in the containment zones.
