Sombre Holi across states amid coronavirus scare

Sombre mood prevailed on Holi in parts of Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday as people stayed away from big gatherings amid the coronavirus scare.

However, a large number of people paid obeisance at Gurdwara Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib on the occasion of Holla Mohalla amid heightened vigil.

A few days ago, the chief ministers of both states had urged people to avoid big gatherings due to coronavirus.

On Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had suggested that the festival could be celebrated by paying obeisance in various gurdwaras in small numbers, instead of congregating in large numbers at one place.

A family in Haryana's Ambala, who used to celebrate Holi each year in a large group, said this time they celebrated at home as they did not want to take chances in view of the COVID-19 scare.

Chandigarh-based Aditya (16) said his patents had advised him not to join a large group while celebrating the festival.

"I used to celebrate Holi with my friends until late afternoon, but this time the celebrations were over by noon. My parents told me to avoid joining any big group in view of the scare caused by coronavirus," he said.

The health scare also took a toll on Holi business.

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Some traders in Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, said the demand for Holi products was much less in comparison with last years.

"There is a poor demand this year. There is scare caused by coronavirus due to which people are not buying colours, 'pitchkaris' and balloons. The fact that some of the products sold in markets are from China is also turning them away,” said a trader in Punjab’s Moga.

Police in the two states and Chandigarh made elaborate arrangements to ensure a safe and joyous Holi.

A warning was issued against hooliganism. Special teams of traffic police along with PCR vans and local police were deployed at many places to check incidents of hooliganism, speeding and reckless driving.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh greeted people on the occasion.

"Wishing Happy Holi to everyone. Holi is particularly celebrated for the triumph of good over evil. Lets celebrate this colourful festival in the spirit it deserves and responsibly," Singh tweeted.

In another tweet, he also extended greetings to people for Holla Mohalla.

"Warm wishes to everyone on the auspicious occasion of #Hola Mahalla. Our Guru, Sri Gobind Singh Ji envisioned Hola Mahalla to demonstrate martial skills of Sikhs. It's a proud celebration for all of us," he said in the tweet on Tuesday.

Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar extended greetings to the people of the state.

"We should celebrate such festivals with mutual joy, affection and brotherhood," he said in a message on the occasion.

Holi celebrations low-key in Goa

The coronavirus threat and appeal from authorities to take precautions against the contagion saw Goa celebrate a subdued Holi.

The main celebration organised by Panaji Shigmotsav Samiti took place at the historic Azaad Maidan here which was attended by several hundred people.

Due to the coronavirus threat, the celebrations were held in an open ground and not inside a pandal (tent) as was the case in previous years, one of the organisers said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant did not play Holi, and those close to him claimed he was busy in his constituency Sanquelim campaigning for the March 22 Zilla Parishad polls.

"He did not play Holi. He will visit a temple in Sal village in North Goa where traditional Shigmo festivities are underway," a chief minister's office functionary said.

Shigmo, Goa's answer to Holi, is the state's biggest spring festival, and honours the homecoming of warriors who had left their homes and families at the end of Dusshera to fight invaders.

Traditional Holi celebrations also took place in Margao, with Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai leading a procession at Lord Damodar Temple.

Sardesai asked people to play Holi with precaution due to the coronavirus threat.

No person has tested positive for coronavirus in the coastal state as yet.

Coronavirus scare takes the colour off Maha Holi celebrations

Mumbai and most parts of Maharashtra had a subdued Holi due to the coronavirus threat amid appeals to revellers from authorities to participate in the festival of colours after taking necessary precaution against the contagion.

Officials and staff on frontline duty on the streets of the metropolis and other major cities said crowds were thinner than previous years.

Most preferred to play with dry colours, called abeer and gulal in common parlance, to avoid water wastage, they said, adding that no untoward incident was reported till late afternoon.

Police had set up checkpoints on arterial roads to curb drunk driving and other traffic offences.

Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Madhukar Pandey said 1,261 people were caught for speed violation, 222 for riding triple-seat, 2,215 for riding without helmets, while 204 were nabbed for drunk driving.

"Those who have been caught for drunk driving have had their licences seized. They will be produced in court on Wednesday for further action," JCP Pandey informed.

One of the highlights was residents of Worli setting ablaze a symbolic 'coronasur' Holika, a thematic take off on the virus that started in December in Wuhan in China and has since spread to almost all parts of the world, killing over 3000 and shaving off several billion dollars from the world economy.

It includes two positive cases detected in Pune on Monday.

On the eve of Holi, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray extended Holi greetings to people and asked them to celebrate it with eco-friendly colours.

Holi celebrated with caution in Gujarat amid coronavirus scare

Holi celebrations in Gujarat had the shadow of the coronavirus threat on them with revellers enjoying the festival of colours enthusiastically but ensuring adequate precaution against the contagion by keeping off 'rain dances', a staple of previous years.

One of the organisers even deployed hand-held thermal detectors to check if any of the guests was under the weather due to coronavirus.

Prominent Holi party sites like the Rajpath Club and Karnavati Club in Ahmedabad did not organise rain dances, otherwise one of the main facets of the revelry.

At several upscale residential complexes in Gandhinagar, people were seen celebrating the festival of colours, called Dhuleti in Gujarati, wearing masks.

"People are indeed worried about getting infected by the virus. Instead of not celebrating the festival, society members decided to enjoy the occasion wearing masks. We had distributed masks to everyone living in this society," said Dharmesh Patel of Satyamev Society near Gandhinagar city.

In some places like Surat, youngsters were seen in large numbers enjoying Holi at party plots and event venues, including one place where a mud pond was the centre off attraction.

Tweeting Holi greetings, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said, "Life is full of colors. May the Festival of Holi bring more colors in your life with prosperity, happiness and harmony. #Happy Holi."

Subdued Holi celebrations in Pink City amid corona scare

The coronavirus scare visibly stemmed Holi celebrations at several places in the Pink City with people preferring to avoid public gathering and crowd.

Amid subdued celebrations, people smeared natural colours and gulal on each others' faces in neighbourhood but avoided joining large groups and venturing out beyond their colonies.

"Only last year people took to streets and celebrated Holi with no holds barred, but there was no replication of last year's scene anywhere in our neighbourhood due to coronavirus scare," said Prakhar Medatwal, a resident of Natanion ka Rasta in the old city area.

Youngsters and some revellers, however, were seen moving around in groups at some places.

The state government had issued advisory to people to stay away from crowds and from Chinese products on the festival amid the coronavirus outbreak.

With an Italian couple testing positive for coronavirus in the state last week, people were alert and preferred to be safe while celebrating the festival.

“We are celebrating Holi but in simple way instead of going all out on streets this time. In view of coronavirus, we have also cancelled a gathering of our friends which we used to do every Holi," said Rajesh Pareek, a city-based advocate.