The Jharkhand government is unlikely to hold a grand celebration on the 20th Statehood Day and instead only organise a ritualistic ceremony with limited guests for the first time since the formation of the state on November 15, 2000, a senior secretary rank official, in the thick of affairs said on Wednesday.

The decision of holding a low-key Statehood Day ceremony was taken in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, said the official. Unlike the past years, the government will not invite special performers from other states this time around to perform in Ranchi during the Statehood Day celebrations, he added.

“A Statehood Day celebration as grand as the ones held in the past years would encourage public gathering and increase the chances of Covid-19 transmission. We will have a ritualistic ceremony following the protocols, but there will not be any extravagance this year,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

The government was yet to issue an official statement regarding the Statehood Day ceremony by the time this report was filed. Usually, the preparations for Statehood Day begin a month prior to November 15. This year, the government has been busy combating Covid-19 pandemic since March and is unwilling to take any risk of holding a gathering on Statehood Day.

Every year, Bollywood singers and celebrities from the tinsel town perform at the Morhabadi Ground in Ranchi on the occasion of Statehood Day. Last year, singer Sukhwinder Singh enthralled Jharkhand residents in a star-studded evening on November 15. Bollywood singers Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan and Kailash Kher have also performed in Ranchi on Jharkhand’s Statehood Day in the past years.

On Statehood Day every year, the chief minister addresses the people of the state from Morhabadi Ground in presence of dignitaries and guests from across the country. In the evening, a grand celebration and light show is organised at the same venue.

“As per the protocol, the chief minister will address the people of the state on Statehood Day from Morhabadi and garland statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. But limited guests will be allowed to attend the programme in person,” said a close aide of chief minister Hemant Soren.

Jharkhand was carved out of erstwhile Bihar and established as an independent state on November 15, 2000 after years of struggle by leaders and tribal rights activists involved in the Jharkhand Movement. The government celebrates the contribution of the activists of Jharkhand Movement on this day every year.