Eid-ul-Adha: Avoid large gatherings

The Muslim festival, Eid-ul-Adha would be celebrated on July 21 and the people could be seen thronging to the markets across the Valley to buy essentials for the festival. The flow of the shoppers has increased manifold in the last couple of days. However, as the pandemic still exists, the people could be seen flouting the Covid related norms and guidelines, thus forcing the Jammu and Kashmir police to impose fine from them. About three lakh rupees are being realized from the norm violators in Kashmir every day, which gives an indication that a large number of people still flout the norms. The violations of the norms can land Jammu and Kashmir in a disastrous situation. As the Muslim festival is arriving, there is a need to follow the guidelines in spirit and ensure that the large gatherings are avoided so that the possible third predicted by the health experts can be prevented. The virus can be defeated in unison, so we need to take care of the situation and ensure that no such steps are taken that can land us in a worrisome situation. The religious clerics at this juncture have a great role to play to ensure that the large congregations are avoided while the people should also understand the intensity of the situation and avoid large gatherings and offer the mandatory Eid prayers in Masjids in their respective localities. Together, we can defeat Covid and following SOPs and set guidelines is the only weapon to prevent the possible 3rd Covid wave.