Keep Eid celebrations simple and safe: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, with Maharashtra as the epicentre, the local government has urged people to keep the 'Bakra eid' celebrations simple and safe.

Maharashtrastate Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday asked people to keep the Eid celebrations this year simple and to follow the issued health and safety guidelines.

The guidelines, which were earlier issued byChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, urged locals to stay home and offer namaz from their homes, instead of gathering in the mosques.It also said sacrificial animals should be bought online or over the phone as markets dealing with them will be closed, adding that "qurbani" should preferably be symbolic.

All the existing guidelines, especially in containment zones, have to be strictly followed in addition to the new guidelines.

"Bakri Eid should be celebrated in a simple manner this year given the COVID-19 outbreak," an official statement quoted Deshmukh as saying.

Maharashtra has crossed 280,000 cases as of Friday morning. This is the highest in the country.