BMC Prohibits Public And Private Celebrations Of Holi, Citing Measures To Prevent Covid Spread

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, BMC has issued a circular stating that all public/private celebration of Holi Dahan and Rang Panchmi will be prohibited to contain the spread of Covid-19, Times of India has reported.

The circular states that people have been requested to cooperate with the authorities, failing which action can be initiated against them under the Epidemic Act, 1897, Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the IPC of 1860, BMC said in a tweet.

Mumbai reported the highest 3,512 fresh cases on Tuesday, 23 March, while total cases in Maharastra also made a fresh high of 28,699 cases.

On Tuesday night (23 March), the state government has also released guidelines for the upcoming Shab-e-Barat festival that falls on 28 March, stating that there will be a total ban on gatherings, including the ones for holding special prayers outside Masjids during the night of Shab-e-Barat.

The guidelines say that mosques can arrange for people to offer prayers, only in small batches of 40-50 people and must ensure social distancing and disinfection of the place at all times, and they can organise the special Waz event through the virtual medium as reported by AIR News.