SHILLONG, Nov 13: Capital town looked decked up today on the eve of the Festival of lights, Diwali which coincides with Kali Puja, even though the usual festival fervour is missing. Private houses and commercial buildings have been provided with colourful illumination setting the tone for a relatively less noise pollution on Saturday.
COVID-19 has induced huge restrictions on all festivals this year, and this one is not going to be any different.
Most Hindu families are expected to perform their puja rituals sans the get-together and fanfare. One thing is palpable: the fury of bursting of firecrackers is conspicuously absent.
Not just the official restrictions, it is the lack of festivity at heart which is making the difference this time around, said an official of Central Puja Committee.
Shops and market places looked crowded during the day. Many parents said they had to buy some crackers just for obliging the children. Most licensed shops reported low sales this year. Some of them hope that last minute buyers would be picking up the unsold stock of crackers tomorrow.
About 30-odd community Kali Puja will be performed in different parts of the town. Being a late night ritual, the district administration has lifted curfew on Saturday night to enable unrestricted movement of devotees and priests alike. This year all festivities, private or public, have been done away with.
According to official sources, special deployment for police forces has been planned for providing security cover to the puja performers.
