Penza, 14 January 2016. PenzaNews. The Penza city authorities decided against setting up a cold water font basin for traditional celebration of Epiphany on the pond located in Arbekovo, 1.5 km away from the traffic police post.

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“The measurements have shown the ice is both thin – only 7 cm – and spongy. If you want to take part in the Epiphany night ceremony, you can do so in ‘Russkaya Okhota’ resort or by Ryleeva street, 1A,” the city hall explained.

In addition, the press service strongly warned against driving to the font basin in a car, taking part in the cold water diving ceremony with any cardiovascular diseases present, or drinking alcohol during or after the ceremony.

As PenzaNews agency reported earlier, originally Penza city planned to set up three font basins on Epiphany night.

The emergency services will be monitoring the situation both in the legal font basins and by the traditional Epiphany cold water diving locations. Due to thin ice, any activities on the pond by the Zakharyina city hospital or the Sura river are prohibited.