Fearing second wave, Bihar tourism dept cancels all mega events

Fearing the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the state, tourism department has cancelled all festivals it had planned for April and is considering revising events planned for May

Fearing the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the state, tourism department has cancelled all festivals it had planned for April and is considering revising events planned for May.

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Patna Sahib Festival, who was to be held on the occasion of Vaishakhi on April 13, as per the calendar released by the the department for this year, has been cancelled.

Another major event of the month, Vaishali Mahotsav, which was planned for April 25, has also been cancelled. The department has been hosting the Mahotsav for decades to mark birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir.

Besides this, events like Kundalpur Mahotsav in Nalanda, Lacchuar Mahotsav at Lacchuar in Jamui, Thawe Mahotsav in Gopalganj and Mundeshwari Mahotsav in Bhabua, also scheduled for this month, have been cancelled.

“The events have been cancelled due to the growing Covid threat. No tourism festival will be held in April. Government has already issued guidelines for public functions,” Narayan Prasad, the tourism minister, said.

The decision on events planned for May are under consideration, he said.

Prasad said though there are prescribed precautions to be taken to stop the spread of coronavirus infections, it will be difficult to keep things under control during such public functions.

“Even the programme of union tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel has been revised due to Covid. He was to visit West Champaran to attend the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, planned on April 10. Now, the programme has been extended to May 1,” he said.

Mukesh Kumar, manager at a hotel run by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC), said that in 2020 also, majority of the state tourism functions were cancelled due to Covid. “Events like Buddha Purnima, Rajgir Mahotsav and Sonepur fair had to be cancelled,” he said.