Ramdas Athawale requests Maharashtra government to ease COVID curbs for Bakrid festival

Republican Party of India (RPI) cheif Ramdas Athawale on Monday requested the Maharashtra government to ease COVID norms and announce relaxations for the Bakrid festival even as the state battles the second wave of COVID. The Union Minister requested Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackrey to allow permit the gathering of people in limited numbers at mosques in and also sought the opening up of meat markets for the purchase of goats.

Athawale's request to ease curbs on Bakri Eid

Ramdas Athawale held a discussion with various Muslim community leaders on Monday at his Mumbai residence over the issues faced by the community ahead of Eid. He asserted to the community leaders that their plea would be forwarded to the state government and assured them that he will write to CM Uddhav Thackrey and request him to ease the curbs.

In his plea, Ramdas Athawale said that he will request the state government to open up mosques for prayers on the Bakra Eid and allow at least 50 people to pray inside at a time. He also urged the government to open up the goat market so that people can buy the animals from the vendors directly as they are currently facing a lot of trouble buying them online. He further stated, that in Islam, the concept of symbolic sacrifice is not valid and that people wished to sacrifice the goat on the occasion.

Earlier, in the wake of the spread of COVID, the state of Maharashtra has released the set of guidelines for the celebration of Bakri Eid this year, slated for July 21. In the guidelines, the state govt has asked the Muslim community to pray from their homes and not visit the mosque, govt also asked them to observe a symbolic sacrifice. The government, meanwhile, has banned all religious activities in the state due to the COVID-19 crisis and has appealed for no crowds in public places.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra

The COVID-19 cases in the state continue to hover in the range of 9-10,000. On Sunday, the state recorded 9,000 new cases taking the state’s total to 6,149,264. Presently there are more than one lakh active cases in the state (103,486). Around 180 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours.

Image: PTI