Jamshedpur: A delegation of Jamshedpur Kendriya Durga Puja Samity on Friday met the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand Sukhdev Singh on Friday and thanked him for allowing some relaxation in Durga Puja guidelines.
The president of Jamshedpur Kendriya Durga Puja Samity C N Banerjee said that guidelines for Durga Puja celebrations in Jharkhand have been welcomed by everyone.
Secretary of the Samity Arun Singh apprised the Chief Secretary Arun Singh with the difficulties being faced in holding Durga Puja.
The delegation told the Chief Secretary that the guidelines were issued by the government on October 1, while Durga Puja celebrations begin on October 17 and it is not possible for the artisans to build statues according to the guidelines within 17 days as it takes around 2 months for the artisans to complete the statues.
The delegation told the Chief Secretary that the artisans had started construction of statues before the guidelines were issued and now several of them are confronting huge losses.
The delegation told the Chief Secretary that at the artisans are already in a bad financial misery due to the pandemic and now this loss due to the guidelines would be very unfair to them.
The delegation asked the Chief Secretary to allow worship of those statues, which have already been constructed.
The delegation pointed out that there cannot be any puja without bhog and prasad. Yet, the guidelines have disallowed bhog and prasad. The delegation urged the Chief Secretary to allow bhog and prasad on a limited scale.
The delegation also pointed out that since inlet of devotees inside the pandals is not allowed, use of loudspeakers should be allowed. This would create the environment for the devotees and they would feel as if they are a part of the puja by hearing the mantras, while it would also help give them advice and instructions.
The delegation urged the Chief Secretary to make suitable changes in the guidelines to make the celebrations convenient for everyone and also keep the safety concerns at the top.
