Bihar restricts Holi celebrations amid Covid-19 surge

The Bihar government has restricted Holi celebrations in the state in view of the constant spike in Covid-19 cases.

The State Home Department's fresh order stipulates that there will be no public gathering for Holi or the preceding religious event of ‘Holika Dahan’ and even those select few, who come out in public, should strictly follow Covid-19 protocols.

The notification, signed by Home Secretary Chaitanya Prasad and DGP S K Singhal, says the order will be applicable for those celebrating Holi as well as Shab-e-Baraat.

“Public gathering has been disallowed for Holi, which falls on March 29. Even for Shab-e-Baraat, people should not gather in large numbers,” the order said.

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The move follows the detection of 195 new cases in Bihar on Saturday, including 80 in Patna alone. This includes two doctors, who have already been administered the vaccine.

A day ago, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had appealed to all to keep Holi celebrations a low-key affair due to the spike in Covid-19 cases and “as far as possible, enjoy the festival of colours at your home, without interacting with outsiders.”

Following this, the top officials held a meeting of Crisis Management Group (CMG) and an order was issued on Saturday evening asking everyone to wear masks, use sanitisers and avoid public gatherings.

“Even for ‘Holika dahan’ function, not more than two or three persons should gather, that too while maintaining social distance,” the order said.