Team News Riveting
Girls and women clad in traditional wear with rich jewellery will not be seen in the streets of Gujarat during the nine-day Navratri festival this year.
For, the Vijay Rupani government has announced banning the Navratri event across the state of Gujarat due to Covid-19. The move is aimed as a precaution measure to contain the pandemic during the most important event in the state.
The streets in different cities in the state of Gujarat are thronged with girls and women clad in traditional dress and boys with turbans rolling down to play Garba—a folk dance that highlights the nine-day festival.
Though the dance has an important religious significance, it has now become a sort of mega commercial event not only in Gujarat but also in different cities. For many event management groups, the festival is a major annual source of income.
The commercialization of Garba started during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat. The Covid-19 has however cast its shadow in the event this year.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday announced that it would not permit any Garba event anywhere in the state due to the pandemic. The government said it would also not hold the State-level Navratri Mahotsav this year during the festival period from October 17 to October 25.
The government has not yet clarified its stand on whether Navratri celebrations, marked by ‘Garba’ dance, will be allowed to be organised by individuals. However, according to official sources, Rupani had categorically said that no permission would be given to organise Garba till August end.
In a statement, the government said, “in public interest in view of the pandemic, CM has taken a decision to not allow the Garba celebrations and also not hold the State level event at Ahmedabad.”
The government’s decision comes at a time when the state has reported over 1.3 lakh confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 3,400 deaths.
The state-level Garba function, held at GMDC Ground in Ahmedabad every year, was started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of Gujarat.
The PM had participated in the festival last year and performed ‘aarti’ at the GMDC ground.
