The mother of all festivals for Bengal is coming up. The pandemic is going to put a dampener on celebrations this year, but that has not been a deterrent for puja committees or the government. (One can always argue if it's at all a good idea to have any large-scale festival in the middle of a pandemic.) 

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The West Bengal government has laid down necessary COVID-19 safety protocls which have to be followed by both organisers and visitors.

Pandal organisers have been told to set up spacious and open pandals to ensure ventilation.

Masks are absolutely non-negotiable, of course. Organisers have been told to keep them handy in case someone stroll sin without one. Hand sanitisers will be kept in place&nbspand all visitors have to use them.

Pujo rituals&nbspsuch as pushpanjali, sindoor khela, and prasad will be organised in small groups.  In fact, BYOF. That is, you may be asked to bring your own flowers for pushpanjali. And there won't be any cultural programmes this year.

In order to avoid overcrowding, the government has asked pujo organisers to open pandals  from tritiya, three days prior to the start of the five-day festival. 

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