The Odisha government has decided to enforce night curfew in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from 8pm to 5am from October 11 to 20 during Durga Puja in a bid to check the spread of Covid-19.

In other areas, it will remain in force from 10pm to 5am.

Durga Puja is one of the biggest festivals in Cuttack and around 145 pandals are built every year. The state government had earlier communicated to the organisers to celebrate Durga Puja in a low-key manner and restricted the height of idols to a maximum of four feet.

Durga Puja begins on October 11 and will end on October 15. It will be followed by Lakshmi Puja.

“Though the number of Covid cases has come down, we have to be cautious in our approach. Our prime objective is to ensure the safety of the public and it can be achieved through preventing large gatherings during festivals. We have also prohibited the sale and use of fire crackers during the festival this month with an aim to curb the spread of the pandemic,” said special relief commissioner P.K. Jena.

According to the special relief commissioner’s order, all social, religious, political and cultural gatherings are prohibited.

Till the midnight of September 29, 1,99,68,786 samples were tested in the state and the number of positive Covid-19 cases stands at 10,27,476. A total of 10,12,583 patients have recovered and have been discharged. The number of active cases stands at 5,642 while the number of deaths so far is 8,198.