The Bengaluru Mahanagara Ganesha Utsava Samithi has demanded that public installation of idols be allowed. At a press conference on Wednesday, Prakash Raju, general secretary, said they sought permission from the government to allow public celebrations. “We want simple celebrations to be allowed. Processions won’t be carried out. But we want public installation of idols to be allowed. All COVID-19 related guidelines will be followed,” he said.
The government is already under pressure from party cadre to allow public celebrations and is holding a meeting on September 5 to take a final call on the issue. While the number of COVID-19 cases have been lower in Karnataka, the rising number of cases in Kerala remains a cause of concern.
Last year, the State government had advised people to confine the number of public celebrations to only one per ward or village to prevent installation of multiple idols in a ward or village to avoid crowding. The government had also banned any procession while bringing the Ganesha statue for installing or during the immersion process.
Getting permission from local authorities before holding public celebrations of Ganesha festivities was also made mandatory.
