The Mahakumbh Mela will continue to take place till April 30 and there have not yet been any discussions for the celebrations to stop early even as the numbers of COVID 19 is skyrocketing and spiraling out of control with every passing day.
Haridwar which observed second ‘Shahi Snan’ on Wednesday continues to add numbers to its COVID tally. As per the daily health report, 525 people were tested positive in Haridwar. In the last five days, since Saturday, a total of 2,167 have been found positive including two dozen seers.
Meanwhile, as per the discussion held between the religious leaders and the government of Uttrakhand earlier on Wednesday, the religious leaders showed no desire to cancel the event early. The officials also added that no discussion took place in the evening meaning there will be no end to the massive gatherings in Kumbh.
Thousands of devotees gathered on the banks of the river for the holy dip adding fuel to the grave situation of an alarming spike of coronavirus cases all across the country. This morning, large crowds of Sadhus and devotees went for the “Shahi Snan” or “royal bath” to the main ghat on the third major bathing day of the week-long festival.
On what is considered to be the most auspicious day of this Hindu festival, the state government reported that an astonishing 9,43,452 devotees had taken a dip on the ghat till 2 PM.
Additionally, the Uttarakhand health secretary has pleaded before the High Court to curtail 50,000 RT-PCR Covid test limit per day in the Kumbh city. This comes after the officials repeatedly claimed that they were conducting 50,000 tests per day as directed by the High Court in its March 31 order.
The Secretary (Health), Amit Negi, in his prayer before the HC maintained that on major bath days, Haridwar administration has done up to 39,000 RT-PCR tests. The secretary further added Haridwar receives the majority of the ‘floating population’, therefore, it was difficult to conduct the test. The official added the majority of the test being conducted on the locals.