The four day festival of Chhath Puja, known as Nahai Khay ritual, has begun on Wednesday and will culminate on November 21, early morning with prayers to the rising Sun.

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a plea against the Delhi government’s decision of banning Chhath Puja celebrations at public places like ponds and riverbanks in the city due to rising cases of infection resulting from a resurge in Covid-19 pandemic in the city.

While dismissing the plea, a bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad, remarked that the petitioner is not aware of the Covid-19 situation in Delhi and any such permission if granted would necessarily result in such function turning into a site of Super spreaders.

“The right to health must be respected first. The person has to live to be able to practice any religion,” the bench underscored while hearing a plea by Durga Jan Seva Trust, challenging the November 10 order of chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to not allow any gathering in public places for Chhath Puja on November 20.

The petition by the Durga Jan Seva Trust had also sought permission to hold a gathering of 1,000 people for Chhath Puja. This surprised the bench who pulled up the Trust stating that when marriage with more than 50 people are not being allowed, how can a gathering of 1000 people be allowed during the time of a globally ravaging pandemic which has hit the city hard.

Meanwhile, in West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee has urged the people to celebrate Chhath puja from home keeping the water-bodies in Kolkata out of bounds.

Nitish Kumar, CM of Bihar, having recently secured a victory in the Bihar polls, with the help of BJP, asked the people in the state to remain vigilant of the Coronavirus situation during the Chhath Puja.

The author is a student member of Amity centre of happiness