The Kumbh Mela of Haridwar, in Uttarakhand, is feared to be the hotspot centre for the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19.
The one month long Kumbh Mela witnessed 21 lakh devotees taking snan (bath) flouting all COVID-19 norms. Despite the dangerous second wave alarm of COVID-19, thousands and lakhs of devotees visited Kumbh Mela for the Shahi Snan (Royal Bath) on the Ganga Banks at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh. The one month long Mela has three Shahi snans, first is today, the 12th of April, followed by the 14th and the 27th of April.
On the 12th of April, the Kumbh Mela Police Control Room confirmed 21,07,000 devotees taking part in Kumbh Mela Snan till 12 noon. The number of devotees who had taken the holy dip in the Ganga till 10:00 A.M., stood at 17.3 lakhs.
Sanjay Gunjyal, the Inspector General (IG) of Kumbh Mela, said, “We are continuously appealing to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior. But (sic) due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible to issue challans today. It is very difficult to ensure social distancing at Ghats.”
In the Kumbh Mela of Haridwar amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Uttarakhand Police is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to zoom in on those not wearing masks.
It is to be noted, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat also attended the Mela for a pooja and was seen without a face mask.
The Kumbh Mela of 2021 is going to end by the 28th of April, as the event is scheduled to be held till 30th of April 2021.
