Telangana: Omicron scare may mute New Year celebrations

Hyderabad: No New Year Celebrations! This was the direction of the State Government in December 2020 in the wake of the Delta variant of corona virus scare. This time, Omicron is likely to dampen the spirits of all those who have planned to usher in the New Year in a big way by holding celebrations in resorts and clubs in the city.

Every year, event management companies organise New Year celebrations by inviting popular singers, DJs, music directors and film celebrities. For the past two years, the celebrations were put on hold as part of the Covid safety measures.

The State Government has sought a report from health, revenue, excise, and municipal administration, and police departments after conducting a field level survey. Based on their recommendations a final decision will be taken on whether to permit the recreation clubs to organise New Year celebrations or not. Ban on such celebrations would result in loss of revenue to the extent of Rs 1,000 crore to the exchequer. With the Centre indicating that the new corona variant could spread faster if proper preventive measures were not taken, the State Government is examining the matter and the indications are that they are unlikely to permit holding such huge parties and celebrations.

Bombay-based event management companies had approached police and municipal authorities requesting to permit New Year celebrations with a limited number of visitors. "The issue of permitting parties with a limited number of invitees strictly following Covid norms is one option," said officials. But the major problem will be to ensure that this regulation was followed by the organisers. This would require a huge mechanism which may be difficult. Sources say that one thing is certain that programmes in stadiums like Gachibowli and LB Stadium will not be permitted.

Meanwhile, the star hotels have been asked to submit their proposals and a decision will be taken based on their plans to follow Covid norms. The proposals will be approved only after municipal teams visit premises and study the Covid safety precautions taken in the hotels. The authorities would hold meetings with the event managements and owners of the resorts and clubs to ascertain the situation.