Nisha Ghosal
A petition has been filed in the Orissa High Court challenging the state government’s plan to hold the Konark Dance Festival and International Sand Art Festival from December 1 to 5 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brundaban Das Ajad, a resident of Cuttack city, filed a Public Interest Litigation through Advocate Shivshankar Mohanty.
The petitioner stated that such gathering could surge the number of COVID-19 cases exponentially in winter.
The matter of this petition is to withdraw the decision to conduct the festival.
The lawyer also stated that conducting such a festival would violate the government’s COVID-19 guidelines, which had banned all forms of large social gatherings.
The Art Festival would be held by the State at Chandrabhaga Beach and the Dance Festival at Sun Temple.
The tourism department had announced that the festival would be held in December, keeping all the COVID-19 guidelines in mind. In the festival, eminent artists from all over the country will participate.