Indians Welcome the Hindu New Year Amid Covid-19 Scare

Guwahati: In the middle of the second wave of the COVID pandemic, states in India are celebrating the New Year according to the Hindu and Sikh Calendars. Communities across India were seen celebrating the onset of Spring and indulging in festivities and merrymaking to herald the New Year known by different names in the different states.

Assam is celebrating Rongali or Bohag Bihu amid SOPs issued by the state government. Last year the Covid situation in the state had put a halt to all the cultural events including Bihu celebrations. As per the SOP issued on Friday, this time the organisers of the cultural programmes, an important part of the Rongali Bihu celebrations, have to seek permission from the local authorities and mention how many people are taking part. All the organisers are to get themselves tested for COVID along with the volunteers. Read more

People were unhappy with one particular guideline that said that the events have to be wrapped up by 11pm. Members of the Bihu organising committees had staged a protest on Sunday urging the government to review the SOPs and relax them.

Meanwhile, Assam has reported 590 new cases in the last 24 hours taking the overall COVID tally of the state to 2,924 active cases. One death has been reported in the last 24 hours. The highest number of cases were recorded from Kamrup (M) at 249, followed by Dibrugarh with 74 cases. Read more

No social distancing was seen amid the celebrations of Baisakhi in Punjab. Devotees were seen taking dip in the sarovar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. People were also seen without masks.

Punjab has recorded 53 COVID-19 deaths and 3,003 new COVID cases on Tuesday.

With the rise of the active cases in Kerala the famous Sreekrishna Temple, Guruvayur was seen sans celebrations on Vishu, the harvest festival of Kerala. The Kerala government had issued new restrictions in the state to battle COVID.

The celebration of Pana Sankranti in Odisha has been low key due to the surge in COVID cases. Devotees have been barred from visiting temples and the civic body has prevented gatherings at religious places across the state. 

Celebrations of Puthandu in Tamil Nadu have been curtailed amid the COVID situation. Puthandu like the other harvest festivals marks the beginning of the Tamil New Year.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the country along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished everyone a safe and Happy New Year.

India has reported 1,38,73,825 confirmed cases with a recovery rate of 88.92%.