Cuttack: The Cuttack Mahanagar Puja Committee on Tuesday strongly opposed the guidelines of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) on the height of the idol of Goddess Durga.
Secretary of the Committee Pravat Tripathy, former BJD MLA of Banki, questioned how restricting the Durga idol to four feet would help during the COVID pandemic.
“I am not aware of the decision taken by the Shanti Committee of Cuttack in this regard. From reports published in the media, it is amply clear that the people are not in a mood to politely accept the guideline, which is an exact copy of last year,” he told the media.
Shanti Committees, Puja Committee and the Puja Mandap members of Cuttack will request the state government to relax the restriction on the height of the idol, he said.
Tripathy also opposed the ban on public darshan and worshipping the goddess behind the curtains at the puja mandaps.
“Devotees should be allowed to have darshan with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines. The puja committees are unanimous with the decision of the government that there should be no immersion ceremonies and cultural programmes during the festival. But some unnecessary restrictions on conducting the puja has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the people,” he added.
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