Virus curbs for major Indian festival
MUMBAI, Aug 22 (AFP) - Indian authorities have imposed tough anti- coronavirus restrictions on gatherings and the size of Ganesha god idols for one of the biggest religious festivals of the year that started Saturday.
The 10 days of prayers and family gatherings for Ganesh Chaturthi started under a pandemic cloud with the country closing on 3mn infections and 56,000 deaths. Major cities have ordered that effigies of the elephant-headed god Ganesha, which draw thousands of Hindu devotees onto the streets, be shrunk. Traditionally, the idols can tower 10m high or more and need dozens of people to carry them but this year authorities said they can be no more than 1.1m tall in a bid to cut crowds.
In a sign of the times one of the Ganesha idols sprays sanitizer onto the hands of devotees.