Mumbai: BMC puts restriction on mass Chhath Puja celebration due to COVID-19

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday put restrictions on mass celebration of Chhath Puja at natural water bodies in the city and asked devotees to avoid crowding in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chhath puja, a festival dedicated to the Sun god, is mainly observed by the people who originally hail from Bihar, Jharkhand and bordering areas in Uttar Pradesh, and it will be celebrated on November 20.

BMC has issued guidelines about Chhath Puja celebration on mass scale to avoid the spread of the coronavirus infection.

In the past, the annual festival used to see large numbers of devotees thronging prominent beaches, river banks and other water bodies to make offerings to Sun god at sunrise and sunset.

Check out the guidelines here: 

• The civic body has decided to ban organizing of Chhath puja celebrations on the banks of water bodies in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The BMC has appealed to citizens to follow COVID-19 protocols like wearing face masks, maintaining social distance and hand sanitisation while taking part in the festival.
• The BMC said it will issue necessary permissions to organisations concerned at ward level for conducting Chhath Puja-related programmes on those two days.
• It has directed the police department to ensure people don't crowd at natural water bodies.
• It has directed ward offices to depute medical teams at puja locations and provide COVID-19 testing facilities there.