The Gujarat government has decided to ban the organisation of any ‘garba’ event during the Navratri festival due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government on Friday said no big, medium or small-scale garba event will be allowed in the state starting from October 17. 

As per the PTI, the BJP government released standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the festive season, which usually sees large gatherings, a fertile ground for Covid-19 spread.

The government guidelines stress on Covid-19-appropriate behaviour by citizens to curb the infection. Garba is a popular folk dance of Gujarat and is performed with passion and fervour during the Navratri festival. The government, however, will allow collective prayers to Goddess Durga where a number of people should not be more than 200, it said in a release.