Lucknow, Jul 28 (IANS): For those lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, it will be a lonely 'Raksha Bandhan' this year.

The jail administration has decided not to permit relatives, mainly sisters, from visiting prisoners and tying rakhi.

Family members, however, can send rakhis about 24 hours before the festival so that they can be sanitised and given to the inmates.

The Raksha Bandhan festival will be held on August 3 this year.

Director-General of Prisons Administration, Anand Kumar said, "Raksha Bandhan' is celebrated with zeal and fervour every year when sisters line up to meet their brothers and celebrate the festival. However, due to the Corona pandemic this year, we are restricting physical interaction of prisoners with people from outside."

The official said that if the sisters wish to send Rakhi to their brothers in prison, they can do so in a labelled envelope with prisoner's details. The jail administration will get sufficient time to disinfect them and hand them over to the respective inmates.

Anand Kumar further said that the jail administrations have been directed to make the day special for inmates by giving them rakhis, organizing a cultural programme and providing a special meal on the day of the festival.

He said that since the past one month, the jail administration has been allowing prisoners to receive essential items in a similar way. Families send items in labelled packages that are deposited at a particular spot. The prison administration then sanitizes and delivers them to the inmates.

"We are not allowing sweets to be sent with the Rakhi as they can get spoilt if kept at room temperature for 24 hours. But sisters can send 'tika' along with rakhi," the official said.

The spread of COVID-19 in UP jails, especially Ballia and Jhansi, where inmates have tested positive in large numbers, has been a cause for concern and visitors in all jails are being denied entry in the pandemic.