In the run-up to the upcoming elections to 15 civic bodies including BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and 24 Zilla Parishads, the Maharashtra Government on Monday has relaxed COVID 19 curbs for the celebration of the Shiv Jayanti - the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji which falls on February 19.
The state government has issued guidelines whereby it has allowed the gathering of 200 people for the Shivjot race and 500 for birth anniversary celebrations. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has approved the home department’s proposal but appealed to the citizens to celebrate the birth anniversary of the warrior king strictly following the COVID 19 norms. CM’s nod came in the wake of fall in daily COVID 19 cases in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra.
Minister of State for Home Shambhuraj Desai said that the home department had submitted the proposal on attendance during the Shiv Jayanti celebrations CM’s approval as a special case. ‘’Chief Minister has cleared the proposal and thereafter gave instructions to the home department and other concerned agencies.
The government’s move is crucial as the celebration of the Chhatrapati Shivaji was a low key affair in the years 2020 and 2021 during the first and second waves of the pandemic. However, the government has relaxed the norms with regard to crowding as the daily COVID 19 cases are falling and the Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope has recently hinted that the third wave of COVID 19 may get over by mid-March.
