Coronavirus in West Bengal LIVE Updates | Bengal govt issues notification announcing norms to be followed in Durga Puja pandals
The West Bengal government on Monday issued a notification asking Durga Puja committees to follow COVID-19 safety protocols and set up open pandals where visitors cannot enter without masks.
"Pandals shall have to be spacious and should be kept open from all sides. If in case it becomes essential to have closed ceiling, the sides will have to be kept open and if the sides have to be blocked, the ceiling has to be kept open," the notification signed by Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said.
"Organisers shall make adequate arrangements for distribution of masks in close vicinity of the pandal to the visitors who inadvertently come to the premises without wearing masks. Use and availability of hand sanitiser should similarly be made compulsory in the pandal premises," it said.