Maharashtra denied permission for Ijtema near Mumbai in mid-March

45,000 delegates were to attend the meet in Vasai

Virus hotspot: Health workers sanitising a stretcher before moving a suspected patient from Dharavi on Thursday.

Maharashtra narrowly escaped a super-speader event like the mid-March Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area . A much bigger Tablighi Ijtema (congregation), with an estimated attendance of around 45,000 delegates, was to be organised in Vasai, neighbouring Mumbai, on March 14 and 15.

However, the Home Department moved swiftly in the first week of March and convinced the organisers to call off the event. Confirming this, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, in an exclusive interview with The Hindu , explained how the government realised the inherent danger of such a huge gathering well in time and negotiated with the organisers to cancel the programme.

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“The State government was alert to the spread of

novel coronavirus in Maharashtra, and we were keeping a close watch on the havoc created by it in the world outside. When we realised that a gathering of over 45,000 people at one place for two days could be a great health risk, not only to them but to others, we decided to take firm action,” Mr. Deshmukh said.

“When Maharashtra Police can cancel the permission, why couldn’t the Delhi Police?” he asked, referring to the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi, now being seen as one of the hotspots for the spread of the virus. Mr. Deshmukh said the event should not have taken place.

On January 22, one Abdulkayyum Abdulahad Azmi, representing Shamim Education and Welfare Society, applied to the Manikpur police station in Palghar district for permission to hold the Tablighi Ijtema on March 14 and 15.

The local police station, while granting the permission February 5, asked organisers to follow all relevant rules and regulations vis-à-vis noise pollution, traffic, fire fighting equipment, and keeping ambulance on standby.

“The State government had begun preparations to counter corona from the first week of March itself. This event was brought to our notice then,” said the Minister.

On March 6, Manikpur police station cancelled permission for the Ijtema, clearly specifying that the sole reason for cancellation was the spread of coronavirus. “You have informed us in writing that the Ijtema will be attended by over 40,000 to 45,000 people. Such a huge gathering may lead to the spread of coronavirus,” the police said.

Mr. Deshmukh said the organisers initially protested and wanted us to give permission for the event. “They even came to my office to meet me and seek permission. But we were firm that no such event would be permitted,” he said.

“It was a team effort, and we could avert a possible calamity. The police, and district administration was alert. It could have gone very wrong had this event taken place,” said Mr. Deshmukh.