Muharram 2020: How Covid 19 Will Impact Rituals This Year; Know What Preparations States Have Made

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, several safety precautions will be taken this year for Muharram. Several states especially those with high Covid 19 count have placed restrictions on processions.

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New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the celebration of several major festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, and Eid al-Adha. For Muharram, considered to be the holiest month for Muslims around the world after Ramzan, several precautions are being taken to ensure safety against the highly contagious Covid 19 pandemic, especially in the densely populated metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Mumbai which have witnesses an alarming surge in the number of coronavirus cases. Last week the All India Shia Personal Law Board had also brought out a set of guidelines for Muharram rituals. Some of the measures included disinfection of carpets and floor covers in Imambaras which is a place used for mourning congregation or majlis of Imam Husain and Martyrs of Karbala. The guidelines also state that children, pregnant women, and the elderly are to stay at home and use online and other mediums to be part of the sermons. Water and food distributed among the poor as 'tabarruk', has to be packed and sealed. Cities such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru have put restrictions on Muharram procession to maintain social distancing. According to the IANS report, in Delhi some of the Imambaras will use a first-come basis to keep control of the crowd. "We have to observe Muharram but with self-regulations this year. We have planned to restrict the entry inside the Imambaras to not more than 50 people. Volunteers would do the headcount and entry would be stopped once the number is reached. This would strictly be on a "first-come-first' basis to avoid any overcrowding," said Syed Mohd. Taqi Rizvi, member Management Committee of Babul-Ilm Imambara in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi in a report by IANS. Other precautions that have been taken by the committee include

• Restrictions on Processions with Tazias which is a representation of the tombs of Hasan and Hussain (the grandsons of Muhammad).
• Self-regulation strategies such as the entry on a 'first limit -come-first' basis or limiting the number of entry tokens for the devout to 50.
• Face masks to be worn before entering the Imambaras.
• Children below 10 years and senior citizens above 60 years will not be allowed to attend the majlis.
• Steps have been taken to stream majlis on Youtube and Facebook so that everyone can watch it online.

Similarly in Mumbai, people are being encouraged to observe Muharram at home. The state government has also released guidelines for the day, with strict restrictions on mourning and tazia processions.