BHUBANESWAR: AMID fears of a possible resurgence of Covid-19, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked the Jatra committees and parties to adhere to Covid safety norms during Khandagiri Mela, to be held in the city from January 28 to February 10.
Issuing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the mela, the civic body stated that theatre groups taking part in the 10-day festival will have to follow Covid-19 protocol for the entire period. The zonal deputy commissioner of the Southwest zone will ensure that all the officials, members, volunteers of the organising committee of the festival are fully vaccinated.
The Jatra organising committees are also required to prepare the layout plan of the stages and obtain safety certificate for the same. CCTVs will be installed at major places of the pandals and mela area, while the organising committees will also ensure sufficient number of dustbins are in place for proper disposal of garbage during the mela.
BMC officials said as per the SOP, the organising committee will have to ensure cleanliness in and around their pandal premises and handing over of waste to the garbage collection vehicles of BMC. Moreover, the vendors and eateries have been asked to ensure that their five metre radius remains clean.
The organisers have also been asked to deploy adequate number of volunteers to assist security staff in managing crowd and other arrangements. BMC in its SOP also clarified that the content of the shows should not contain anything which is indecent and may disrupt the communal harmony or offend religious sentiments.
Meanwhile, the BMC has also issued a separate SOP for the traders and shop owners for the Mela, making it clear that old applicants will be given first preference in the allotment process. On the other hand, the civic body has asked the city health officer and food safety officers to do a quality check of food served to people during the fair.