Six test positive, 298 sent back from Haridwar

DEHRADUN:  Six people tested positive for Covid-19 in Haridwar on Monday after the Government Railway Police (GRP) conducted rapid antigen tests on samples collected from 1,139 people.

“Out of these six, 4 are from Gujarat, and one each from Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. We are conducting intense checking in the trains to prevent unauthorised entry of Kanwar Yatris in Haridwar,” Manoj Katyal, additional superintendent of police, Indian Railways said.

The GRP was conducting precautionary tests.  A total of 298 people have been sent back on trains and special buses to their home states. Meanwhile, despite ban on Kanwar Yatra, pilgrims are arriving in Haridwar, violating Covid norms and breaching security with the month of Saawan starting on Sunday. 

Breaching very arrangement right from the borders of the district to Har Ki Pairi, the most famous Ganga ghat, Thousands gathered on Sunday to take a dip in the Ganges, violating Covid norms. Last month, the Uttarakhand High Court, noted how several lakh people were allowed to congregate in Har ki Pairi in Haridwar to take bathes in the Ganga. 

Earlier on Sunday, Uttarakhand Police booked 14 Kanwar Yatris,  who had travelled to Haridwar all the way from Haryana. Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj S, senior superintendent of police, Haridwar district said, “A case has been registered against 14 people under sections of Disaster Managment Act 2005. After registering the case, they will now undergo quarantined for 14 days.”