Cuttack, Sep 16 (PTI) The Orissa High Court on Thursday completed hearing on the writ petition challenging the Durga idol height restrictions of the state government and reserved its verdict. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice S Muralidhar after hearing the arguments of the petitioner and the state government reserved its verdict. The court is likely to pronounce its verdict on Friday. Meanwhile, the Mahanagar Puja Committee and the Cuttack City Peace Committee, which have written letters to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to have a relook at the Durga idol height restrictions, decided to wait for Friday to chalk out their next course of action. The state government in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the height of the idols to be worshipped at different mandaps during the ongoing puja season at four feet or below. The government has also ordered to have the puja rituals performed under the curtains at the mandaps. The puja committees of Cuttack city are urging the state government to relax the height and curtain restrictions for the Durga puja next month. Protesting against the restrictions, the City unit of BJP has already observed a 12-hour bandh in the city earlier this week. Finding no other alternative in sight, the Balubazaar puja committee of the city had approached the High Court urging it to allow the committee to hold the Durga puja as per the age-old tradition. BJD leader and secretary of Mahanagar puja committee Pravat Kumar Tripathy said that the committee has already urged the chief minister to reconsider the restrictions. "We will wait for the chief minister’s intervention in this matter," he said. Local MP and senior BJD leader Bhartruhari Mahatab also echoed similar feelings saying that the puja committees should wait for the chief minister’s decision. PTI COR AAM RG RG