After a gap of two years, on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, the annual Damodar Bhajani Saptah will reportedly be held in the port town of Vasco on a grand scale with religious tradition and rituals on August 3. It is learnt that the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) has decided to have the traditional fair with various stalls coming up for a period of seven days. However some aspects need to be kept in mind. There has been a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases reported in the state. The Saptah fair is visited by people from across the state and the neighbouring states. Hence it will be absolutely necessary to maintain all the Covid-19 related protocols. There has been a ban on the use of plastic bags which came into force from July 1. This ban needs to be strictly implemented during the days of the fair. The vendors and citizens need to have an alternative to plastic bags. Cloth bags, paper bags and bags made from eco-friendly material should be made available at the fair. Various social groups and social clubs could help in this respect by distributing paper bags made from old newspapers to the vendors. Garbage needs to be collected on a daily basis and there should be no collection of rainwater as the number of cases of dengue is also on the rise. The fair should strictly end after the proposed seven-day period.
