India’s science agencies plan to host a four-day science festival in Goa this month with delegates from across the country and students from within the state, despite appeals from health authorities to the public to neither organise nor attend any crowded events.

The Union science and technology ministry and its affiliated departments will organise the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2021 from December 10 to 13 in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati, a non-government body of scientists that lists among its objectives the promotion of “Swadeshi Sciences”.

The brochure lists events on science films, science literature, engineering sciences, rural science, hands-on science experiments, and a “mega science and technology expo” among activities planned during the festival in Panaji.

Two officials who are among the festival’s coordinators told The Telegraph that all Covid-appropriate precautions, including masking and physical distancing, would be rigorously adopted. “Only 25 per cent of the activities are in-person, 75 per cent are online,” one of the coordinators said.

But some scientists have expressed concern that the festival appears set to proceed with in-person gatherings at a time health experts have underlined the need to adhere to all precautions against Covid-19 amid the threat posed by the new omicron variant.

“I am shocked — it seems our science departments have decided that Covid-19 is over,” said a senior biologist from a central government research institution who is also a member of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy.

A query sent by this newspaper to the science ministry’s spokespersons seeking reactions to the scientists’ concerns has not evoked a response.

The science departments have requested several institutions across the country to participate in the festival, and institutional directors have in turn requested some of their scientists to head for Goa. “When requests come from higher authorities, it is hard to decline,” a scientist said.

The health officials guiding India’s response to Covid-19 had last week iterated the need for continued precautions at a time the omicron variant is spreading and several countries with large vaccinated populations are witnessing fresh Covid-19 surges.

“Let us not fear or panic — just be even more responsible,” Vinod Paul, chair of the national Covid-19 task force and member (health) with the Niti Aayog, the
Centre’s apex think tank, had said.

Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, had said that Covid-appropriate behaviour should include not going into, and not organising, mass gatherings.

“Such messages should also have gone out to the science ministry. The health ministry should have put pressure on the science ministry to hold the festival only online,” said a festival coordinator. “It was held fully online last year and we had record participation.”

The coordinator said it is unclear how many delegates will actually turn up for the festival this year. The festival’s 2019 session held in Calcutta had drawn an estimated 15,000 footfalls, the coordinator said.