A local NGO has shot a letter to Jharkhand chief secretary Sukhdev Singh calling for guidelines for Chhath Puja amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The NGO, Jan Kalyan Morcha (JKM), has sought the guidelines in advance because rules for Durga Puja were issued at the last moment, causing problems for organisers.

“As Chhath is one of the main festivals in Jharkhand, I have requested Singh to issue the guidelines concerning the festival as early as possible so that devotees are not inconvenienced like the organisers of Durga Puja due to the delayed issuance of rules by the state government,” the NGO’s president, Om Prakash, told The Telegraph Online.

Prakash, who is also a senior lawyer, pointed out that it was needless to mention that Chhath Puja is performed mainly on the river ghats and other water bodies, including ponds and lakes.

“While performing the rituals, thousands gather at the river ghats and along other water bodies. In Jamshedpur and the adjoining Adityapur township in Seraikela-Kharsawan, the devotees have to visit the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers for performing the rituals. As there is little space at the river ghats, the devotees have to perform the rituals while standing close to each other, which is not safe during the ongoing pandemic. The situation may add to the spread of the coronavirus,” Prakash said. He said it would be fruitless if the guidelines are issued late.

Prakash said Chhath Puja is on November 20 and 21, almost a month away from now. He pointed out that if the state government declares that devotees cannot gather along the river ghat in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the devotees can make alternative arrangements like digging a small pond at their homes.

“In any case, the state government has to issue guidelines in this regard. If it is to issue the guidelines, then why not now? Issuing the guidelines on time would help the devotees,” Prakash said.

He said the NGO was forced to approach the chief secretary as it had not got a response from Seraikela-Kharsawan deputy commissioner Iqbal Ansari, whom it approached first.

In Jamshedpur, over 2.5 lakh people perform Chhath at the ghats along the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers every year. Of late, some devotees have started performing the Puja at their homes or localities.

The guidelines for Durga Puja were issued on October 1, just 21 days before the festival. As a result of the delay, most organisers could not get the Durga idol in time.