Sambalpur: Sambalpur district administration Thursday said that permission for Ganesh Puja at various mandaps of the district has not been given for 2020 in view of consistent rise in COVID-19 cases across the district.
“In view of COVID-19 pandemic, there’re restrictions on large religious congregations. So, no permission has been given to puja mandaps to celebrate Ganesh Puja at community level”, said district collector Shubham Saxena.
However, there is no bar for the performance of Puja of Lord Ganesh in temples (without devotees) or permanent places of worship for the deity.
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Saxena has issued an order in this regard in which it is mentioned that any violation against the order of cancellation of Ganesh Puja in the mandaps of the district shall attract penalties under provisions of Sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Besides, legal actions under Sections 188 of the IPC and other legal provisions are also applicable.
It may be stated here that, the district recorded 77 fresh positive cases Thursday. The total number of COVID-19 cases has reached 1,677 in the district. Out of them, 645 are undergoing treatments at different COVID-19 hospitals while 1,024 patients have recovered. The COVID-19 virus has taken life of eight persons in the district.
PNN