ReutersThrowing caution to the wind amid rising cases of coronavirus, thousands of seers congregated on Wednesday at Har ki Pairi in Haridwar to take a dip in the Ganga during the third shahi snan of the Kumbh mela. The 'royal bath' marked Mesh Sankranti and Baisakhi, and fell two days after a similar convergence of 'sadhus' and other devotees for the second shahi snan -- events where following social distancing norms appears almost impossible.
By noon between eight and 10 lakh people had take a bath in the river, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, who was supervising the arrangements at Haridwar, said.
Sadhus from four of the 13 akhadas were through with the 'snan' by this time. The officer said the event was going on without any hindrance.
He said the crowds at the Ganga ghats were much smaller than expected at the third shahi snan - considered the most important in the series - and attributed this to the Covid restrictions in place.
Police personnel were seen distributing masks among people in the Mela area.
However, social distancing norms were violated openly by the seers when they and their followers descended the steps at Har ki Pairi to wade into the river.
No masks were worn by a large proportion of them.
The seers from the akhadas took the dip along with their revered deities carried in ornate palanquins at Har Ki Pairi, which was reserved exclusively for them.
Lakhs of common devotees bathed at the other ghats of the river in Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Seers and Naga sanyasis of the Niranjani Akhada led by Acharya Kailashanand Giri were the first to bathe in the river along with Anand Akhada seers. They were followed by the Joona Akhada, which has the highest number of sadhus led by Swami Avadheshanand.
The Mahanirvani Akhada seers came next, as the batches followed one another according to their allotted time slots.
All akhadas have to finish taking a dip at Har Ki Pairi before sunset so time management is very important, Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal said.
The shahi snans, and the Kumb Mela, have raised concerns over their role in possibly adding to rising coronavirus cases in the country.
Uttarakhand recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases on Tuesday with 1,925 people testing positive.
Dehradun with 775 cases and Haridwar with 594 were the biggest contributors to the day's tally.
On the initial hours of the third shahi snan, the DGP said there was no disorder anywhere. He said this was because of the expansion of infrastructure in Haridwar over the past few months, including the addition of more ghats which has helped in better crowd management.
By noon between eight and 10 lakh people had take a bath in the river, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, who was supervising the arrangements at Haridwar, said.
Sadhus from four of the 13 akhadas were through with the 'snan' by this time. The officer said the event was going on without any hindrance.
He said the crowds at the Ganga ghats were much smaller than expected at the third shahi snan - considered the most important in the series - and attributed this to the Covid restrictions in place.
Police personnel were seen distributing masks among people in the Mela area.
However, social distancing norms were violated openly by the seers when they and their followers descended the steps at Har ki Pairi to wade into the river.
No masks were worn by a large proportion of them.
The seers from the akhadas took the dip along with their revered deities carried in ornate palanquins at Har Ki Pairi, which was reserved exclusively for them.
Lakhs of common devotees bathed at the other ghats of the river in Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Seers and Naga sanyasis of the Niranjani Akhada led by Acharya Kailashanand Giri were the first to bathe in the river along with Anand Akhada seers. They were followed by the Joona Akhada, which has the highest number of sadhus led by Swami Avadheshanand.
The Mahanirvani Akhada seers came next, as the batches followed one another according to their allotted time slots.
All akhadas have to finish taking a dip at Har Ki Pairi before sunset so time management is very important, Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal said.
The shahi snans, and the Kumb Mela, have raised concerns over their role in possibly adding to rising coronavirus cases in the country.
Uttarakhand recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases on Tuesday with 1,925 people testing positive.
Dehradun with 775 cases and Haridwar with 594 were the biggest contributors to the day's tally.
On the initial hours of the third shahi snan, the DGP said there was no disorder anywhere. He said this was because of the expansion of infrastructure in Haridwar over the past few months, including the addition of more ghats which has helped in better crowd management.
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2 Comments on this Story
 | Roushan S1 hour ago WOW! Such a great show of humanity! And exam cancelled which is conducted following Covid protocol! |
 | Suresh Kamath3 hours ago Such MASS Gathering SHOULD have had been better CROWD Managed by PROFESSIONALS and smaller batches or timing for the Shahi Snan (Holy Dip) to AVOID Spread of COVID which has PEAKED during these times and affected many STATES due to these Members return to their Home STATES thereby causing SPREAD and HIGH RISK to their OWN Families and Friends.Extreme care SHOULD be taken to see that such GATHERING be STOPPED and BETTER arrangement made to SEPARATE the HEALTHY and those Suspect of Covid and help STEM the SPREAD of COVID Virus |