Hundreds of devotees celebrated with gulaal without following Covid rules
The festival of colours marked its arrival in the holy city of Varanasi with the Rangbhari Ekadashi celebrations. In videos, devotees can be seen throwing gulaal in the air on Wednesday as they gathered to witness the gauna, the traditional formal induction of a bride married in childhood. As per Hindu belief, Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati on Mahashivratri and the gauna was performed on Rangbhari Ekadasi. The festivities aside, what raised the eyebrows of many were the large number of people gathered for the celebrations even though the country is witnessing a rise in coronavirus cases.
Over 50,000 Covid-19 cases were reported in India on Thursday, which is the highest single-day jump in the last five months. The Union Health Ministry has said that a new "double mutant variant" of the deadly virus has been found in as many as 18 states.
One social media user expressed concern about the well being of the large number of people in the Rangbhari Ekadashi videos.
While another user said that she will send this video to whoever asks her about the current coronavirus situation.
Most of them agreed that the people were completely ignoring the social distancing norms and it seemed as if they were "Covid proof".
However, Piyush Tiwari, PRO of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board and Temple, said people were urged to follow safety protocols to keep the threat of COVID spread away.