Experts warn against Covid relaxations at Mahakumbh

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in the hill state has been steadily increasing over the past one week.

Updated on: Mar 16, 2021, 06:50:34 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi, Sandeep Rawat, Hindustan Times, Haridwar/ Dehradun

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With the Uttarakhand government removing all Covid-19 restrictions for people attending the Mahakumbh in Haridwar, experts on Monday warned that the religious event could spark an alarming spike in the infections that already shown signs of a fresh wave in the country over the last few weeks.

Devotees attend evening prayers after taking a holy dip in the waters of the River Ganges on the Shahi Snan (grand bath) on the occasion of the Maha Shivratri festival during the ongoing Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar on March 11, 2021 (AFP)

Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has announced that negative Covid-19 reports are not necessary to participate in the upcoming ‘shahi snans’ during the event. “Devotees were afraid that they will not be allowed to enter if their Covid-19 report will not be negative. On this, I confirmed that the report is not needed,” Rawat told ANI on Monday. “Around 3.2-3.3 million devotees participated in first ‘shahi snan’ and they left for their home peacefully,” he added.

Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who resigned from the post recently, said the state government needed to be cautious amid rising cases. “25,000 infections, highest in 2021, have been recorded on Sunday, so we need to be more cautious in organising mega religious fairs such as the Mahakumbh.”

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in the hill state has been steadily increasing over the past one week. On Monday, the state reported 52 Covid-19 cases, up from an average daily increase of 20 a week ago. On March 11, the day of the first “shahi snan” in the Mahakumbh on the occasion of Mahashivratri, the Uttarakhand government removed the condition of mandatory Covid-negative certificate for entering the religious place. The number of people who attended the event was almost three times the number the organisers estimated. “Making Mahakumbh free for all can be dangerous as there are other parts of the country that are witnessing a surge. If we are not cautious, we can again have a sharp surge, radiating across the state from the Mahakumbh area. Also, how can they make the Centre’s SOP lenient? They can change it but not make it more lenient,” said Anoop Nautiyal, founder of Dehradun-based think tank Social Development for Communities.

On his visit to Haridwar on March 11, the chief minister directed officials that visitors should not face any problem while entering Haridwar for the religious event. The Kumbh will be held from April 1 to April 30 in Haridwar.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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