Assam's Health Department to issue an SOP for Durga Puja tomorrow; Relaxation expected

Nine days before Durga Puja, the biggest festival in East India and Barak Valley, residents have no clue about the guidelines that they need to follow. The Puja committees are clueless too. On October 2, 2020, the Cachar district administration issued an SOP that was heavily criticised by both the general public and elected representatives.

Later the district administration decided to shelve that SOP and the Health Department of the State said it will release another one. The sentiments related to Durga Puja as well as the COVID situation are different in different districts. That is why, the chief secretary of Assam, Kumar Sanjay Krishna had mentioned in his letter that the respective deputy commissioners under the DDMA Act. can impose restrictions or allow relaxations.

However, if sources in Cachar district administration are to be believed then after the criticism, the Cachar district administration was hesitant in taking any such call. “Meanwhile, the Health Department of the State informed that it will issue an SOP. So, the administration decided to wait for it as making frequent changes will confuse the general public,” said a senior official in the administration.

The Health Department, however, was in no rush. The administrations in Barak Valley has been kept in anticipation. According to sources, at times, the Health Department stated that it will release the SOP by the end of the day, but it did not.

“Yesterday, there was a video conference with the deputy commissioners where the Health Department communicated that it will roll out the SOP on Monday that is October 12, 2020,” said an officer who attended the video conference.

The officer added, “The officers in the meeting used Cachar as a case study and the immense criticism has been taken into account. Though the department was not happy with the reaction, it has decided to keep the restrictions limited. Nobody is willing to put their neck on the line by imposing a strict set of guidelines.”

“Instead, the administrations have decided to prepare for a probable spike in the number of COVID cases post-Durga Puja especially in Barak Valley,” the officer added.

All eyes will be on the Health Department’s SOP tomorrow.