Nagaland Govt issues SOPs for Durga Puja celebrations; Check the details here

Guwahati: With the Durga Puja celebrations just around the corner, the Government of Nagaland has issued a list of do's and dont's for revelers as well as organizers so that the festivities can be conducted while reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.

The Nagaland Government today issued a set of directives to be following during the celebration of the yearly Durga Puja festival. The rules and regulations are as follows.

The Durga puja pandals will be allowed to be set up only in temples (mandirs) and no temporary pandals shall be allowed to be erected on and by the side of any street.

The timing for the visit of the devotees to the Durga Puja pandals shall strictly be from 5 AM in the morning till 10 PM in the evening.

There shall be no fairs, food stalls, or stalls selling any items in and around the Durga puja pandals.

A maximum of 30 persons (including organizers and priests) shall be allowed to gather at any time in the puja pandal.

The puja organizers should not allow any person to enter the puja premises without face cover or mask and washing or sanitizing of hands. It shall be the responsibility of puja organizers to arrange for facilities for hand washing and sanitation at the entrance.

Owing to the ongoing crisis, the distribution of wet prasad to devotees shall not be allowed.

The organizers must ensure sanitizing the premises before opening and after closing and every 6 hours during the day.

No permission for any immersion procession shall be given under any circumstances.

A maximum of 10 persons shall be allowed to complete the ritual of immersion.

All visitors to puja location shall be subject to thermal scanning by puja organizers and no person with any symptom related to COVID-19 shall be allowed to enter the puja pandals.

In case any visitor to a puja pandal is suspected to be symptomatic with COVID-19, it shall be the responsibility of the puja organizers to inform the nearest Government medical facility and arrange for shifting of the person to the nearest COVID-19 treatment center.

In addition to the usual authorities in the Districts giving the necessary permissions to the puja committees or organizers for putting up pandals, the authority for giving the final clearance this year will be the respective District Task Force headed by the Deputy Commissioner, the government notice further added.

When will Durga Puja 2020 be held?

Navratri, the nine-day long festival of the goddess starts from October 17 and lasts till 25th, with Vijayadashami on October 25/26 (depending upon timings). This year, Mahalaya, which is the beginning of the Devi Paksha and end of the Pitru Paksha took place on September 17, and Durga Puja starts from October 22.

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