After the sudden spurt in H1N1 patients following Ganesh festival in the city, the Navratri celebrations will be a low-key affair. Sounding caution, medical experts said the overcrowding that happened during immersion procession was responsible for rising swine flu cases. The district administration does not agree with this contention.

The Shree Devi Chatuhshrungi Mandir Trust, Mahalaxmi Mandir, Sarasbaug and the Pune Navratro Mahostav -- three of the most visited places during Navratri festival -- have decided to tone down the celebrations by cancelling all cultural programmes and avoiding decorations that generally attract crowds.

According to Rajkumar Agarwal, chief trustee of Mahalaxmi Mandir, Sarasbaug, this year the "Atharvasheersha" and "Shreesukta Pathan" that takes place everyday during the festival and are recited by around 300 school students will be cancelled. “The decision is taken keeping in view the safety of students as they are vulnerable to the disease,” he said.

”The bhajan programmes that take place throughout the day and around 400 women take part are also skipped. Every year, we invite around 900 eminent personalities in the city to perform aarti in the evening. We have decided not to send any invitations this year. The stalls will also be very limited and all the cultural programmes in the evening are cancelled,” said Agarwal.

He said the trust expects that these measures would help bring down the crowd by at least 40 per cent compared to every year. “We cannot restrict people from visiting the temple for worshipping. However, we will try to maintain as much discipline as possible to avoid crowding,” he said.

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