With a lockdown in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 across Tamil Nadu, Vinayaka Chaturthi processions are unlikely this year, though the State government is in the process of finding a way for allowing pujas and immersions.
Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam chaired a meeting with senior officials and representatives from various organisations in the Secretariat on Wednesday, and discussed various aspects of the celebrations.
A senior officer told The Hindu, “All of them [representatives from various organisations] requested to allow the Vinayaka idol puja at least for a day with five persons, duly following social distancing norms.”
While the discussion was over pujas and immersions, the procession aspect is almost ruled out this year. “They have all realised that procession is not possible but requested arrangements for immersion,” he said.
A top official said, “We asked for their views. It will be discussed with the Chief Minister and decided. Mostly they all agreed to follow the government’s instructions.” Another officer said the meeting was only a preliminary one and there may be more meetings to finalise the decision. “No decision as such was taken,” he said.
Home Secretary S.K. Prabakar, Director-General of Police J.K. Tripathy, Revenue Secretary Atulya Misra, Commissioner of Revenue Administration K. Phanindra Reddy, Tourism Secretary Vikram Kapur and Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal attended.
