Khandagiri Mela: BMC issues COVID19 protocol for 'Jatra' organizers

In a bid to protect revelers from Covid threat, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the organisers of the 10-day-long Khandagiri Mela which is slated to begin from January 28.

After a gap of two years, Bhubaneswar residents are going to witness the Khandagiri Mela which will be held near the twin hills of Khandagiri and Udayagiri. Keeping the mass gathering in mind amid lurking threat of Covid, BMC came up with an SOP, especially for the organisers of the jatra (opera/threate) shows. 
The jatra organizers have been asked to adhere to the Covid protocol while making seating arrangements for the viewers.

“The BMC Deputy Commissioner for the Southwest Zone has been asked to ensure that all the office-bearers, members, and volunteers of the organising committee are fully vaccinated against Covid-19”, read the SOP.

The SOP maintains that the organizing committee of the shows shall ensure that the content of the play should be decent. Besides, the contents should not disrupt communal harmony and offend the religious sentiments of any section of people.

The SOP has made it clear that the opera committees must take necessary steps to limit the sound of the microphone while promoting the content of the opera shows through moving vehicles.

The organising committees have also been asked to obtain the necessary permission from the electricity department for power connection. Besides, the civic body has asked the committees to install adequate number of CCTVs in and around the opera shed for the safety of viewers.

The organisers should also make arrangement for toilets and drinking water facilities for the viewers and maintain cleanliness at the venue, the BMC has asked.  

Reported by Bibartan Panda, OTV