English
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday said the state government has banned the celebration of religious festivals in public places including Vinayak Chaturthi in an attempt to control coronavirus spread in the state. In response to a point raised by BJP lawmaker Nainar Nagendran in the Assembly, Stalin said the coronavirus infection increased in Kerala as they had permitted gathering of people in large numbers during the religious festivals like Bakrid and Onam.
The unprecedented pandemic is not completely over and hence all religious celebrations in public places have been banned till September 15. The chief minister said that the government will pay a compensation of Rs 5,000 to 12,000 to potters, who were unable to carry out their profession during the rainy season. A total of 3000 workers are involved in making Vinayak or Ganesh idols out of clay during festival times.
The livelihood of these workers has been extremely hampered due to the covid induced bans on public celebrations. Taking that into consideration, Stalin said that the government will pay the 3,000 workers, a sum of Rs 5,000 as rainy season compensation and an additional sum of Rs 5,000 to them.
(With Inputs from IANS)
