Officials said on Wednesday that there are no plans to launch the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, even with a COVID-19 super-spreader worried.
Despite the lack of record spikes in India coronovirus infections, lakhs of devotees have gathered to participate in the holy festival at the Kumbh Mela.
Reportedly, more than 1,000 people tested positive at the Kumbh Mela between April 11-13. Officials say that any plan to wrap up the Kumbh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar will continue till April 30. There is no discussion of starting the event two weeks ago due to the COVID-19 situation.
Earlier in the day, there were reports of discussions between the Uttarakhand government and religious leaders, who object to the premature cancellation of the event.
Millions of devotees gathered for a ‘holi bath’ on the banks of the Ganges River for a holy bath. On Wednesday, large crowds – mostly maskless – gathered at the main ghat Har ki Pauri for the “holi bath” on the third major bath day of the week-long festival.
A record 9,43,452 devotees had dipped till 2 pm on Wednesday. Says the police officer, “People are being fined for not following social disturbances in non-crowded ghats, but it is very difficult to fix people at the main ghats, which are very crowded.” The next important Kumbh day is scheduled for 27 April.
More than 1,000 people tested positive for COVID-19 between 10 and 4 pm on 13 April, 1,086 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the Kumbh Mela area.
No physical disturbances, no masks, Aquarius invites criticism. The Kumbh Mela was widely criticized as the scene of a large crowd of people, where many people were seen without masks, went viral.
There was no physical disturbance on Har’s Pauri on Wednesday and hardly a mask was seen. Police officers deployed to manage the crowd and ensure compliance with COVID-19’s proper behavior were also going into the river for a holy dip.