Karnataka issues special guidelines for Deepavali celebrations

As Deepavali approaching, the Karnataka state government has issued guidelines for the celebrations during the pandemic. The guidelines were issued on Wednesday, October 14 by TM Vijay Bhaskar, Chief Secretary and member secretary of the State Disaster Management Authority.

They issued the guidelines to ensure a safe and infection-free celebration during the pandemic. As the celebration will take place between 1 and 17 November, the guidelines have been issued well in advance to make it easy for firecracker sellers to make the necessary arrangements.

Among the guideline is the requirement of sellers to get clearance from the competent authorities before any transactions take place. They must only set up shops in spots for which permission is given and maintain 6 meters of distance from each other. They must sell the firecrackers solely between 1 and 17 November.

Further, the sellers must have cross-ventilation, sanitize the shop daily, wear masks, maintain social distancing and enforce the same upon the customers. It presses members of the public and businesses to follow guidelines issued by the health and home departments with due diligence.

(Reported by Mafaza Sharafudheen)