The Historical Marbat Festival of Nagpur also known as Kali Pili Marbat has been canceled this year due to the rise in the case of COVID-19 in the city.
The 136-year-old festival is celebrated on the second day of Pola, started during the British rule in the year 1885 to protest against the British, the Marbat procession is unique and is celebrated only in Nagpur City and is a major attraction at the end of the holy month of Shravan.
The Teli community would take effigies out in procession on the second day of Pola. These effigies would be representative of all the diseases and evil spirits that people believed pestered them.
But as the numbers of corona cases are on a steep rise, the celebration has been called off and as per the order, only 5 people are allowed to perform the rituals due to the pandemic this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Nagpur, 727 new cases were tested positive on Thursday increasing the total number of cases in the city to 11,709. With 18 patients succumbing to the infection today, the total fatality count has now gone up to 420.
