Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has imposed certain restrictions on organising and attending social, religious, cultural, political and academic events as the entire state is reeling under the second wave of COVID-19 infection.
The Odisha Special Relief Commissioner today issued detailed guidelines for the observation of various event that are subject to certain restriction to be followed strictly.
In a marriage function, not more than 50 including hosts, guests, priests and catering, and other support staff will be allowed. Similarly, in the case of funerals and last rites, the ceiling on numbers of persons has been capped at 20. The Govt said that under no circumstances, the number of participants shall exceed the ceiling for the entire event.
No marriage procession will be allowed and in case of violation, the vehicles including the equipment and accessories used in the procession will be seized and criminal action will be taken against the host or the owner of the procession service provider.
The list of participants should be submitted to the local authorities at least 24 hours before the event and the said list shall be displayed at prominent locations of the venue which can be easily read by public from a distance of 10 feet. If persons other than those declared before the local authorities and as such displayed are found present in the venue, it shall be considered as violations of the conditions of permission and action will be initiated against the owner of the venue as well as the host.
Further, Local Authorities may impose penalty on the host and owner of the venue apart from taking such other action as sealing, seizure and levy of penalty under prevailing rules/ guidelines/ orders of the Local authorities.
Wearing of masks correctly, maintaining social distancing of at least six (6) feet between participants and provision of thermal scanning & use of hand wash or sanitizer shall be mandatory.
The owner of the venue as well as the host of the function shall be criminally liable for any violation and non-adherence of guidelines/ Covid-19 protocols.
The host of the marriage/ funeral function as well as the Venue owner shall make necessary arrangement for checking at the entry point and ensure wearing of mask by the guests/ others during the entire duration of their participation. Host shall make arrangement to provide masks to those who have not come with appropriate masks.
No Social/ Cultural/ Political/ religious/ Academic meetings/ congregations shall be allowed. All these activities are to be encouraged to be conducted on virtual mode.
No rallies/ Processions of any soft shall be allowed.
Religious rituals in temples/ churches/ Mosques/ places of worship shall be permitted with limited number of priests and staff adhering to Covid safety protocols. As regards to entry of devotees into such religious places, District Magistrates may, looking into the prevailing situation in the district and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, impose any further restrictions as deemed proper.
Other social functions shall be avoided. Wherever such social functions, such as Birthday, Brata Ghar, Ekoisa, anniversary etc. shall have to be organized, they shall be organized within the house with only family members participating. No outside guests shall participate in any social functions. No outside venue (hotels,/ Kalyan Mandaps/ Resorts/ Clubs/ Association Buildings) shall allow any social functions conducted in their premises.
Offering of feast/ guest entertainment/ community feast of any kind shall be prohibited irrespective of number of persons attending.
