At a time when the outbreak of the third wave of pandemic is still in the realm of possibility, the Odisha Government has decided to trim down the puja festivities akin to indoor-like ambience bereft of pandal hopping by devotees to contain the possible spread of Coronavirus.

Prioritizing the health safety criteria, the State government on Monday issued Puja observance Standard operating procedure (SOP) debarring the devotees from hopping the puja pandals as it had done last year to contain the pandemic spread.

“It is hereby directed that congregations for the celebration of Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja, Kali Puja, and other similar festivals shall not be allowed in public throughout the State. However, religious rituals in churches, temples, mosques, and places of worship will continue as usual with a limited number of persons with strict adherence to Covid protocols”, the notification issued by the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) stated.

There will be no pandal hopping this year and there will be no darshan of deities at the pandals by the devotees. As maintaining physical distance has become a matter of paramount importance in view of the prevailing health crisis, the stringent measure of barring the devotees’ darshan had to be initiated to avoid crowding of the puja pandals, top officials of the State government said on Monday.

Puja shall be conducted in indoor-like conditions only for observance of rituals without public participation, pomp, and grandeur, they said.

“The Puja pandals, Mandaps shall be covered on three sides. The 4th side shall also be covered in a way not to allow any public view of the idols. There shall be no darshan by public devotees. The size of the idol shall be less than 4 feet”, it said.

Among other things, the organizers have been asked not to use the public address system at the community pandals. The notification also asked the organizers to scale down the size to less than 4 feet.

At any given point of time, there shall not be more than 7 persons including organisers (Kartas) and priests and support staff present in the Puja Pandal or the Mandap, it said.

The organizers at Puja Pandal/ Mandap must have to abide by all COVID protocols of social distancing, mask use, personal hygiene, and hand sanitation.

There shall be no immersion procession. The idols will be immersed in the artificial pond(s) created by the local administration for the purpose, the notification stated, imposing prohibition on musical or any other entertainment programme.

Ganesh puja in educational institutions is allowed with the participation of a limited number of students observing COVID appropriate behavior. No community feast associated with any puja/ festival during the period shall be allowed.

Any person violating these measures will be liable to be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Regulations issued thereunder besides legal action under Section188 of the IPC and other legal provisions as applicable, the notification concluded.

The organizers will have to obtain the necessary permission from the District Magistrate or any other authorized officer. In the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, such permission shall be given by the Commissioner of Police of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar or any other officer authorized by him.