Environment Minister Rai appeals to Centre to issue revised guidelines on Chhath celebrations

The Delhi government wants to allow Chhath Pooja celebrations at public places, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday and appealed to the Centre to issue revised guidelines. Rai also accused the BJP of playing politics over the issue, saying their own government at the Centre is not revising the COVID-19 guidelines on the festival. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday wrote a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, urging the Centre to issue guidelines for the Chhath festival as soon as possible following consultation with health experts.

This came after protests were staged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers outside Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal's house.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), in its order on September 30, prohibited Chhath at riverbanks, water bodies and other public places in view of Covid.

However, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta asserted on Monday that Chhath would be celebrated grandly and the BJP-ruled municipal corporations would make arrangements for it.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)