Ahmedabad, Jan 10 (PTI) In view of the rising COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat government on Monday issued stricter guidelines for the upcoming Uttarayan festival banning gatherings in public places, on roads and at open grounds for flying kites on January 14.

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On the terraces too, people should wear masks, maintain social distance and use sanitisers as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of COVID-19, said a notification issued by the state Home department for the kite flying festival.

As per the notification, people are barred from gathering at any public place, open grounds or on roads to fly kites.

While large gatherings on terraces or inside residential societies will be banned, the guests, friends or relatives living elsewhere must not be given entry in other residential complexes for celebrations, it stated.

The use of loudspeakers and DJ systems on the terraces or in societies will be banned as they may encourage people to break social distancing norms during celebrations, it said.

The state Home department said the people above the age of 65, people with comorbidities, pregnant women and children under the age of 10 should stay at home on the festival day.

The police will keep a watch on the people using drones, CCTV cameras and through patrolling.

Those found violating the guidelines will be booked under the Disaster Management Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said the notification.

Gujarat on Monday reported 6,097 COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 8,68,301, while the death toll increased by two to touch 10,130, an official said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)