Amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus infection due to lack of Covid-appropriate behaviour during festive season, Delhi Police has appealed devotees not to visit temples on Janmashtami festival as District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) guidelines prohibit religious gatherings.
DCP South-East Delhi, RP Meena, said action will be taken against those found violating Covid-19 guidelines. “Devotees will not be permitted to visit temples on Janamashtami as DDMA guidelines prohibit religious gatherings. We will urge people to celebrate it at their homes and not to gather at temples. Action will be taken against those violating guidelines,” the DCP said.
According to the DDMA guidelines, all social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious, festival related gatherings and congregations are prohibited in the national capital.
Meanwhile, the Centre has also asked all states and union territories to ensure there is no large gathering and that they take pro-active measures to check the spread of coronavirus. Extending the ongoing Covid-19 guidelines for one more month till September 30, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the overall pandemic situation now appears to be largely stable at the national level, except for the localised spread observed in a few states.
The home secretary further advised them to take suitable measures to avoid large gatherings during the coming festive season and, if required, impose local restrictions to prevent such gatherings. A number of major festivals, including Diwali and Chhath, will be celebrated in the coming months.
Covid-appropriate behaviour should be strictly enforced at all crowded places, he said.
The Delhi government on August 8 imposed a graded response action plan (GRAP) to control any rise in Covid-19 cases in the coming days. As per the DDMA order, the permitted, prohibited or restricted activities will be as per levels of alert specified in the action plan for the effective management of Covid-19 situation in the national capital.
Delhi, which is the first city to impose such a plan, has laid down separate guidelines for four levels marked by different colour codes. This came into effect with an official order issued by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government. “This graded action plan consist of three parameters: positivity rate, cumulative new positive cases and average oxygenated bed occupancy for lockdown/unlock of Delhi,” the DDMA said in its order. The GRAP was approved by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal last month, said the order.
The city had witnessed an unprecedented surge of cases and deaths during the second wave of coronavirus in April and May. But now the situation seems to have been improving over the past few weeks. The rapid rise in the number of Covid-19 cases had led to a shortage of medical oxygen at various city hospitals.
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