Ganesh Chaturthi: Maharashtra Govt Bans Pandal Visits, Allows Online Darshan

The Maharashtra government, in its latest order, has prohibited devotees from visiting pandals due to COVID-19.

COVID-19 has impacted Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations this year.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Taking cognisance of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government, on Thursday, 9 September, said that devotees would not be permitted to visit pandals during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The order issued by the state's home ministry stated that the pandal organisers should instead provide the facility of online darshan or live telecast of the pandals for the benefit of the devotees, news agency PTI reported.

Previously, the Maharashtra government had said that devotees will be allowed to visit pandals while following strict social distancing.

"We can celebrate festivals later. Let us prioritise the lives and health of our citizens. The situation can go out of hand in view of the spike in daily cases," Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had earlier been quoted as saying by PTI.

The decision to prohibit the public celebration of the festival at pandals comes in the wake of a small jump in the number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra. The state, which had reported 3,898 cases on Tuesday, witnessed 4,174 fresh cases on Wednesday.

This year, the 11-day celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi will begin on Friday.

(With inputs from PTI.)