MANGALURU: The demand from various Hindu organisations to permit public celebration of Ganeshotsava this year will be considered as per the instructions of the Centre, Karnataka Minister for Energy, Kannada and Culture V Sunil Kumar said on Monday.
The state government will also hold consultations with health experts before taking a decision in view of the COVID situation, he told reporters at Udupi. "Though the demand of people can be understood, the primary duty of the government is to protect the health of the people," he said.
The minister said physical classes for students from ninth grade to second pre-university courses in Udupi district will begin soon as the COVID situation has improved. The test positivity rate in the district has come down to 1.4 per cent in the last three days, he said.
Kumar said private educational institutions have been directed to strictly abide by the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the government. All the teachers attending classes should be fully vaccinated, he said.