TURA: West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Ram Singh on Wednesday evening convened a meeting with the police department, magistrates, sector magistrates, development committee members and members of Central Puja Committee (CPC) at the District Auditorium, Tura to discuss various Covid protocols and restrictions to be followed during the upcoming Puja celebrations.
During the meeting, Deputy Commissioner, Ram Singh informed that the Government has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Puja celebrations in the State and these precautionary measures need to be followed by everyone to prevent the spread of COVID-19 further. He also said that the CPC should advised persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years to stay at home and to make wearing of face masks, physical distancing of 5 feet, frequent hand washing with soap and use of alcohol based hand sanitizers, practicing respiratory etiquette which involves covering of nose and mouth while coughing sneezing with tissue or handkerchief etc, self monitoring of health and installation of Aarogya Setu App. He also cautioned that spitting is prohibited and those found violating could attract penalties.
With regard to the construction of pandals, Ram Singh said that it should be as per the requirement on SOP issued and all puja committees should provide thermal screening, hand washing, sanitizers at the entrance of the pandal and the number of visitors should not exceed one-third capacity of the pandal at any one time. He added that the puja committee should also register the names and mobile numbers of all persons visiting the pandal to be used for contact tracing, if and when required, to depute volunteers to ensure physical distancing and wearing of mask as well as the installation of mandatory CCTV cameras in all their pandals. He also informed that the height of idols should not exceed 5 feet and devotees are not allowed to touch the idols.
With regard to the immersion of Idols, the Deputy Commissioner informed that there will be no foot procession during immersion as being usually done every year and only 15 members will be allowed with two light vehicles and 1 (one) heavy or medium vehicle to accompany the idol to the immersion ghat and only 5 persons will be allowed to enter the immersion ghat for immersion rituals. The immersion should be completed by 3:00 PM and onlookers or bystanders are not allowed during immersion, he added.
The Puja Committee members were also advised not to organise any sports, games and cultural activities during puja celebrations this year and to conclude all activities before 9:00 PM. The committee members were also requested to maintain cleanliness in all puja pandals by ensuring segregation of waste and proper disposal and encouraged live streaming of prayers and other rituals to cater to elder people, children and persons with co-morbidities who cannot attend the puja pandals.
West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police, Dr M G R Kumar also advised everyone to adhere to the SOPs issued by the Government so as to prevent spread of Covid-19 in the district while warning of consequences to be faced if violators are found. He also informed of the police control room mobile number 8837423053 which is available 24X7 for contact in case there is any problem.