Covid Surge: Gatherings At Sea Beaches In Odisha’s Ganjam Banned For Makar Sankranti

Amid the rising Covid-19 cases in Odisha, Ganjam district administration on Thursday imposed bans on gatherings at various sea beaches in the district for the upcoming Makar Sankranti festival on January 14. The development came after the State reported a massive spike in Covid cases.

As per the district administration sources, all the sea beaches in the district will remain close for the tourists from January 13-17 to avoid congregation and hence the spread of the virus.

“In order to avoid large gatherings during upcoming festivals and to ensure Covid-19 protocol, all sea beaches in Ganjam such as Gopalpur, Sonapur etc. and other major water bodies shall remain closed for public from 13th to 17th Jan’22,” tweeted Ganjam Collector.

Elaborate security arrangement has been made to make sure that there are no congregations at the sea beaches.

Meanwhile, Puri district administration has also imposed various restrictions to keep the infection rate under control during the celebration of Makar Sankranti.

The district administration has issued an order to celebrate Makar Sankranti festival at Kalijai Pitha in Krushnaprasad with strict adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour and norms.

“Kalijai pitha witnesses huge number of crowd on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. Keeping in view of the huge crowd, restrictions have been imposed on people from 5am on January 14. Only servitors will be allowed into the pitha to perform the rituals,” said Puri Sub-Collector Bhabataran Sahu.

Similarly, restrictions have also been imposed for Covid-19 pandemic at the famous Siruli Mahaveer temple in Chandanpur of Puri district in Odisha for Makar Sankranti.

Earlier two days before, the Odisha government had issued Covid-19 related guidelines and restrictions for celebration of Makar Sankranti and Pongal in the State.

On the other hand, The State on Thursday reported 10,059 covid-19 cases, including 872 cases from 0 to 18 years age group, and three deaths in the last 24 hours. 

(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)