Health Minister K K Shailaja told on Sunday that it would be difficult to cancel the festival, despite the public health concerns of organising large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it will “cause many problems”.
“Many preparations have been made for the festival, so it is not possible to cancel it entirely. Clear instructions have been given to conduct it with caution which the Devaswom committee has agreed to. Even those who test negative should still wear masks, apply sanitisers and keep as much distance as possible from each other,” the minister had told reporters on Sunday, 18 April.
This drew a lot of criticism from activists and people accusing the Left government of trying to play it safe as the party had faced backlash in the Sabarimala issue.
Last year, the state government had decided to close the event for public due to the surge in coronavirus cases.
Political parties including CPI(M), Congress and BJP had earlier told that the festival should be held,…