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Uttarakhand HC seeks govt’s reply on mandatory online registration for Mahakumbh pilgrims
Over 12 crore pilgrims were expected to participate in the mahakumbh, ut now it is not clear yet how many pilgrims would actually turn up amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
With Mahakumbh 2021 scheduled to start in January, Uttarakhand high court has directed the state government to file its reply by December 23 on the suggestion of making online registration mandatory for pilgrims attending the four-month mega religious congregation, said Shiv Bhatt, counsel of one of the petitioners.
The court’s directions came while hearing a bunch of PILs on Wednesday. The PILs have been filed by Sachdanand Dabral, Dushyant Mainali, and Rajendra Arya related to various issues regarding the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic in the state. The HC hears these PILs related to the Covid-19 situation in the state on every Wednesday.
Mahakumbh will begin from January 1 and conclude on April 28. The first Shahi Snaan (royal bath) of Mahakumbh will be held on March 11(Shivratri), second on April 12 (Somwati Amawasya) and the third on April 14 (Baisakhi Mesh Poornima). The Mahakumbh is held once in 12 years.
Before the pandemic, over 12 crore pilgrims were expected to participate in the mahakumbh. But now it is not clear yet how many pilgrims would actually turn up.
Shiv Bhatt, counsel of Sachdanand Dabral said that he and the government counsel Rakesh Thapliyal had put forth many suggestions for checking Covid-19 spread during Mahakumbh like making online registration a must for pilgrims.
“I also apprised the court that the state government had earlier stated that pilgrims would have to go for Covid test before attending Mahakumbh. The court directed the state government to file an affidavit on preparedness for checking Covid spread during mahakumbh by December 23”, he said.
On November 24, the Uttarakhand government had stated that it was planning to allow pilgrims to attend Mahakumbh only after undergoing a Covid-19 test. Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat while reviewing the Mahakumbh preparations had said “It is our responsibility to ensure that pilgrims are able to take holy bath safely amid this pandemic. For that, a mechanism should be made to allow only those pilgrims who have undergone a Covid-19 test and test negative,” he had said.
Uttarakhand has so far reported over 79,000 Covid-19 cases and a total of 1,320 people have died of the disease. Haridwar district, where the Kumbh is scheduled, has so far reported the second highest Covid-19 cases in the state (12,551 cases).
