Amidst pressure from the ruling party cadre to allow public celebrations of Ganesh festivities, the State government is holding a meeting on September 5 to take a final call on the issue.
Speaking after a meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19 that was chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru on Monday, Revenue Minister R. Ashok said that big celebrations of the festival were usually held in about 300 to 400 places in the State. Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police would be holding a meeting with the organisers to get their views and assess the situation.
The Chief Minister would then take the final call on September 5, Mr. Ashok said.
He said that the government was thinking ‘positively’ on the demand to allow public celebrations of Ganesha festivities. However, he made it clear that the health interest of people would be kept in mind while making any decision in this regard.
In a bind
The government has been in a bind over the issue as it has issued guidelines earlier in the month barring public celebrations of Ganesha festival in view of the COVID-19 situation.
However, some right-wing organisations and leaders including BJP MLA Basanagoua Patil R. Yatnal and Srirama Sene leader Pramod Muthalik, besides a few VHP leaders, have demanded that public celebrations be allowed.
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But the alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in neighbouring Kerala has caused concern. Experts have been suggesting that precautionary measures should be taken by Karnataka. Some of them have even pointed out that the cases started growing rapidly in Kerala after the public celebrations of Onam.
