Maharashtra State Home Department has issued a circular making it mandatory for all 'mandals' to take prior permission from the concerned municipality or local authority, for Ganeshotsav celebrations this year, reported ANI.
The circular has also capped the maximum idol height at 4 feet.
Here are few of the guidelines from the circular:
Height of Ganpati idols in community pandals should be up to 4 feet, and for households, it should be up to 2 feet
One should immerse the idols at home if possible or at the nearby community immersion pool.
If possible postpone the immersion ceremony to Maghi Ganapati or to 2021's Ganesh festival
Pandals should have enough facilities for sanitisation and thermal screening
Pandals should ensure that norms like physical distancing and use of sanitizers are followed
Pandals should encourage and arrange for the online darshan facility for the worshippers as much as possible on websites, Facebook lives, etc.
Moreover, the circular has also requested the mandals to organise awareness campaign on Dengue, Malaria, COVID-19 or organise blood donation drive instead.
In the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases, many mandals decided to celebrate the Ganesh festival in a simple way this year.
Earlier, Mumbai’s iconic Lalbaughcha Raja Mandal took a decision on July 1 to organise a blood and plasma donation camp to pay respect to Lord Ganesh this year. The camp will continue for 11 days.
