Mumbai, September 30: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday issued guidelines for Navratri celebrations in Mumbai. The Durga Puja 2021 guidelines were issued by the BMC days ahead of the Navaratri festival which will be celebrated from October 7 to 15. The height of Durga idols will be two feet for home and four feet for public mandals. Only five people are allowed at Mandals. Mumbai School Re-Opening: Mayor Kishori Pednekar Issues Strict COVID-19 Guidelines; Parents’ Consent Mandatory for Students To Attend Offline Class.

Mandals need to take prior permission.  Flowers and sweets are banned for devotees at public mandals. The civic body directed mandals to carry out proper sanitisation. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, online darshan is encouraged. However, physical darshan will be allowed following COVID-19 protocols. Devotees are required to wear masks and maintain special distancing while visiting mandaps. Durga Puja 2021 Guidelines in Mumbai: BMC Issues SOPs for Navratri, 4-Feet Idol Height Cap; Only 5 People Allowed at Mandals.

Tweet By ANI:

Mumbai | Idols height to be 2 feet for home idols & 4 feet for public Mandals. Mandals required to take prior permission. Five people allowed at mandals. Flowers, sweets banned for devotees at public mandals. Sanitisation mandatory at mandals: BMC SOPs for Navratri

— ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2021

Here Are detailed Guidelines Of The BMC:

• Not more than five people will be allowed inside in the pandal.
• Devotees going for physical darshan will be screened for their temperature.
• Flowers and sweets are not allowed at mandals.
• Idol height is capped at 2 feet for homes and four feet for madals.
• Mandatory for public mandals to take permission from BMC.
• No garba events will be allowed during the festive season.
• Distribution of “prasad” not allowed.

Notably, only five people can take part in immersion of household idols. Meanwhile, 10 devotees can take in immersion of idols of mandals installed by community groups. In both cases, people taking part in immersion should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. People will not be allowed to submerge idols. They will be handed over to BMC officials at immersion points.

Mumbai has been witnessing a decline in COVID-19 cases in the past few months. Mumbai city on Thursday reported 458 new coronavirus positive cases, while seven persons died due to the infection. As 414 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, the recovery figure reached 7,19,632. The number of active cases stands at 4,761,

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 30, 2021 11:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).