Coronavirus threat overshadows Holi revelry in Mumbai – Times of India

MUMBAI: The two-day festival of Holi got off to a warm start with the Holika Dahan ceremony Monday night. Tuesday was Dhuleti, when the play of colour and water unfolded.

This year, the coronavirus scare prompted a great degree of caution towards large festive gatherings. A housing society in Chembur requisitioned masks and hand sanitisers for its members. Dosti Flamingos in Sewri, which had initially called off celebrations, later gave in to insistent children who were keen to enjoy their annual roll in the mud. The society management organised a “subdued” Holi, urging residents to avoid
playing with water and use as little dry gulal as possible.

Even in this, revellers killed two birds with one stone by showing off creativity and generating awareness. In Worli and Thane, people lit the bonfire of the Corona Asur (corona demon). They burnt with it “social evils like lack of civic hygiene and littering”.
Fifty people were treated with various Holi-related injuries on Tuesday, according to doctors of the city’s public hospitals.
Two patients with head injuries were admitted to state-run JJ Hospital in Byculla while a patient who accidentally ingested colour was admitted in BMC-run KEM Hospital, Parel.

Civic Sion Hospital treated 23 patients on out-patient basis while Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central treated six patients.
“Most people had minor injuries that could be treated on OPD basis and discharged,” said a senior BMC official.
People came in with head and arm injuries sustained during accidental falls while playing Holi.
Motorists had expressed concern about coronavirus spreading through repeat use of nozzles of breathalysers used by traffic police. However, the traffic police said they used disposable nozzles made of paper.
Thane police did not use these devices and chose to run medical tests on 124 drivers instead. In Vasai, an 18-year-old girl riding pillion on a motorcycle was killed on the spot while her 24-year old friend sustained serious injuries when their two wheeler skid on a sharp turn. The duo were returning home after playing Holi at Manickpur ground.