On September 9, the Mumbai Police imposed section 144 under the CrPC in Mumbai from the period of September 10 to 19, 2021. With approaching Ganesh Chaturthi, the famous festival in Maharashtra, the Mumbai Police shared fresh guidelines about the pandemic circumstances adhering to the upcoming celebrations.
“There should be no procession for the arrival of Ganesha idols. A group of a maximum of five persons will be allowed for arrival,” read the order registered under the jurisdiction of Mumbai Police Commissionerate. On September 8, the BMC has disapproved physical visit to the Ganpati pandals and requested the residents to celebrate the festival by staying indoors.
A BMC notice issued catering to the third wave of the pandemic said: For bringing the idols of the deity and during their immersion, there will not be more than 10 people in the processions of public mandals and not more than five for the household Ganpatis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
“All devotees should wear masks and observe social distancing. Also, the 10 participants should have taken both the doses of COVID-19 vaccine and completed 15 days after taking the second dose,” the guideline added. Subsequently, a cap on the height and length of the Ganpati idols was imposed, for the second successive year in order to curtail the deadly spread of the COVID-19 virus.
