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'Good on paper': Saints, experts express concern over Centre's SOP on Mahakumbh
The mega fair will be held from February 27-April 30 with six Shahi Snaans or auspicious baths.
By Sandeep Rawat
With about a month left for the Haridwar Mahakumbh in Uttarakhand, the Centre has issued the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the mega event in the holy city. The SOPs include mandatory RT-PCR negative test and medical report on the lines of Amaranth Yatra. However, experts and saints have cast their apprehensions regarding the SOPs saying they are "good on paper but difficult to implement".
The Centre issued the SOP on Sunday after the state government approached it for the same on the order of Uttarakhand High Court while hearing a PIL on conducting Mahakumbh amid Covid-19 pandemic. The mega fair will be held from February 27-April 30 with six Shahi Snaans or auspicious baths. The government is expecting one million visitors on normal days while about five million on the Shahi Snaans (royal baths).
As per the SOP, the Centre has asked the state government to make it mandatory for all the devotees to carry an RT-PCR negative test report with a 72 hours validity. It also asked all the devotees to get a medical report from a competent medical authority on the lines of Amaranth Yatra before coming to attend the mega event in Haridwar. It has asked the state government to ensure that the aforementioned reports are checked by the mela authorities and not allow anyone without them.
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Similarly, it has also asked the state government to discourage devotees aged above 65 years, pregnant women and children under 10 years from attending the event. To ensure the health safety of the health and frontline workers deployed in the Mahakumbh, the Centre has asked the state to deploy only the vaccinated personnel.
Saint community raises questions
The saint community in Haridwar has largely welcomed the SOP, saying that previously, there was uncertainty over organising the Mahakumbh but "now it has been cleared with the Centre's go ahead".
Mahant Narendra Giri, national president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, said, "owing to the new strain of Covid-19, safety of pilgrims is important when such a mass scale congregation is being held".
Radha Krishna ashram spiritual ideologue Satpal Brahmachari though questioned the mandatory RT-PCR negative report to be brought by pilgrims.
"Lakhs of people from rural areas across the country arrive for sacred Ganga dip during Mahakumbh. Many come in groups of joint families, neighbourhood, locality and even whole villages. It will not be financially viable for poor people and pilgrims," said Brahmachari.
Some saints also suggested that the government can further slash the rates for RT-PCR for Kumbh-bound pilgrims so that maximum number of people can participate in the holy fair which is being held after eleven years in Haridwar.
The authorities, however, said that the SOP would be properly analysed and appropriate steps would be taken for its implementation.
The authorities said that it is still being analysed if saints ageing 65 years and above should be discouraged from attending the Mahakumbh.
Additional district magistrate, Mahakumbh, Lalit Narayan Mishra said, "We are now working on our own plan while analysing the Centre's SOP in which varied aspects will be taken into consideration."
Experts flag concerns
Experts have welcomed the SOP but have their doubts on its proper implementation in Mahakumbh.
Social activist Anoop Nautiyal, who has been keeping an eye on the Covid-19 situation in Uttarakhand since the lockdown in March, said, "On paper, the SOP looks very good but in reality, it would be very difficult to implement".
"It would be a very hard task for the state government, especially to check whether the devotees are carrying a negative RT-PCR test report or not along with the mandatory medical report from the health authorities," said Nautiyal.
Another expert and state secretary of Indian Medical Association in Uttarakhand, Dr DD Chowdhury, welcomed the SOP and said, "Implementation will remain a challenge. We have to be cautious as more dangerous diseases are likely to come in the future," he said
State government's take
State cabinet minister and government spokesperson, Madan Kaushik, said, "The Centre has issued the SOP after we approached them. We are now working on it to chalk out a plan on its implementation which will be mentioned in our affidavit before the High Court. We are committed to conducting a safe and secure Mahakumbh while making it grand at the same time."
