All functions, which usually continue till early mornings, will have to be wrapped by 11 pm.
Festivals are turning to be the medium to spread coronavirus in an easy way. Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, a cloud of uncertainty hovers over Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu celebrations in Assam. The biggest festival in the state marks the start of the Assamese New Year.
Bohag Bihu starts in mid-April and goes on for seven days, but cultural events, organized in most major localities across the Brahmaputra, continue for a month.
The Covid lockdown the previous year had halted the cultural events. With assembly elections getting over last week, the state government decided to allow celebrations this year, but with restrictions in place.
As per the standard operating procedures, all organizers and volunteers will have to get themselves tested for Covid-19 three days prior to and also after the event. The event sites should be spacious, kept open from all sides with adequate space for social distancing. Use of a face mask is mandatory and organizers will have to arrange for hand sanitizers.
The guidelines haven’t gone down well with many Bihu organizers who have blamed to the government for issuing them late, they have questioned why such measures were not in place when campaigning for polls was underway barely days ago. The committee members in Guwahati also held a protest on Sunday, urging the authorities to either revoke the SOPs or alter some of the guidelines.
The state government explained its stand. “There’s no lockdown or night curfew planned in Assam and we have even allowed Bihu celebrations even as some states have enforced night curfews. But we will be criticized if we allowed functions throughout the night,” health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.
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