UP govt releases SOPs for festivals and political events, key detail here
The guidelines also state that the onus of providing masks and sanitation devices to visitors and staff will be with the organisers of mass events.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday released detailed guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for festivities and political activities, especially in view of the assembly bypolls in seven constituencies of UP to be held amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The guidelines mandate separate entry and exit points for venues of all mass religious activities and political rallies and isolation rooms at all such places for any person displaying Covid-19 symptoms apart from other precautions. Though not mandatory, the guidelines ask organisers to consider CCTV surveillance systems to monitor adherence to Covid containment measures such as wearing masks and social distancing at the venues.
The guidelines also ask organisers of religious or political mass gatherings to encourage pregnant women, persons above 65 years of age, children below 10, and those with comorbidities (serious illnesses) to stay at home and it also states that none of the organising members or staff should be in these categories as well.
The Friday order clarifies that none of such public activities can be held without prior permission from the district administration and no such activities will be allowed in containment zones.
The guidelines say that idols should be installed at open spaces, kept smaller; idols/tazia should not be installed/ kept at road crossings; small vehicles with minimum people should be in attendance for immersion processions, and routes for such processions should be planned in advance.
Chief secretary RK Tiwari released the elaborate point-by-point guidelines following the order he had issued on October 1 that paved the way for unlocking almost all activities by allowing a graded reopening of schools, a partial reopening of movie theatres, and bigger gatherings, including political and religious events (Durga Puja, Ramleela, Dussehra, other festivals and political activities).
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The guidelines/SOPs state that the venues for religious events should be selected in advance with proper permissions in place and that the area (boundaries) of the venue should be earmarked. It’s mandatory for all such venues to have separate entrance and exit points; the venues should be adequately equipped with sanitisation systems, thermal scanning, physical distancing circles on the ground/floor, or hand sanitisation facilities.
According to the guidelines, if any person -- be it among organisers, staff, or visitors shows any Covid symptoms, then he/she should be politely turned away and advised to seek medical assistance.
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In cases where community feast or food distribution is organised, then hygiene and social distancing should be maintained. It also states that it will be the responsibility of the organizers to provide for masks, sanitations etc to the staff at the venues and if any monetary transactions have to take place at the venues, then the organisers should arrange for contactless payments.
The guidelines prohibit spitting in public places and direct all venues to have covered bins for the safe disposal of masks, gloves, or similar items. It also asks for mapping of nearest health facilities.