Covid norms forgotten as hundreds take part in nagar kirtan in Amritsar to mark 416th Parkash Purb of Guru Granth Sahib

Ignoring district administration, SGPC’s appeal to devotees to watch live telecast of the procession amid pandemic, hundreds turned up without maintaining social distancing or wearing masks

Amritsar: Despite Covid-19 restrictions, hundreds of devotees took part in the nagar kirtan (religious procession) to mark the 416th Parkash Purab of Guru Granth Sahib in Amritsar on Wednesday.

Devotees taking part in the religious procession at Golden Temple on Wednesday morning. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

The hour-long procession started from Gurdwara Sri Ramsar Sahib and culminated at Golden Temple.

Golden Temple head granthi Giani Jagtar Singh initiated the procession after ardas (offering prayers) at Gurdwara Sri Ramsar Sahib.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) functionaries, including senior vice-president Rajinder Singh Mehta, were present.

HOLIDAY IN AMRITSAR

The district administration declared a holiday in Amritsar on Wednesday on the occasion of the Parkash Purb.

Deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh Kehra appealed to people to celebrate the occasion by staying home and ensuring safeguards to contain the spread of coronavirus but his plea went unheard as devotees gathered in large numbers

The procession, which began from Gurdwara Sri Ramsar Sahib and culminated at Golden Temple, took an hour to cover a distance of 1km. Most devotees were without masks and social distancing was not observed. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

RESPLENDENT GLORY

On the occasion, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, Harmandar Sahib, was decorated with 30 tonnes of flowers.

The floral decoration has been done with 45 varieties of flowers brought from Kolkata, Pune, Kerala and Bangalore.

According to the SGPC, the floral decoration has been done by 80 artists from Uttar Pradesh. The flowers have been provided by a devotee, KK Sharma.

An SGPC spokesperson said the shrine will be illuminated on Wednesday night. He said besides the deep mala (lighting of lamps and candles), a fireworks display is planned for two minutes at the shrine.

.