Ganesh Chaturthi 2021 guidelines: Keep festivities simple, Pune cops tell people

Pune, Aug 31: Guidelines for celebrating Ganesh Utsav, one of Maharashtra's most patronised events, were issued on Monday by Pune police, with people being asked to keep the festivities simple amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police asked people to opt for online purchase of idols, with the height being capped at four feet for those being installed at public sites, and two feet for the ones being placed in homes.

"No big processions at the time of installation and immersion of idols must take place in the city. Only five people will gather at a time to perform aarti and members of mandals must adhere to social distancing. There must be facility of online darshan of the deity to avoid crowding," said Pune Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Shisave.

Mandals must avoid inviting VVIPS or other invitees, while the area of the festivity must be kept sanitized, with equipment for thermal screening etc being deployed, the police guidelines said.