Kumbh Mela guidelines amid Covid-19: Devotees to obtain medical certificate; register with Uttarakhand govt

25-01-2021

The Centre has issued guidelines (SOP) for the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand's Haridwar amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. All devotees desirous of attending the 'mela' have to register with the Uttarakhand government and obtain a compulsory medical certificate from Community Health Centre/ district hospital/ medical college in their state. The 2021 Kumbh fair will be a 48-day-long event and the Uttarakhand government will issue the notification for the same by February end. "Devotees coming to Kumbh Mela will also be allowed till the bath. While the Kumbh Mela had been for three and a half months since years, this time the duration of Kumbh will be one and a half months due to the changed circumstances," Uttarakhand Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik had said.

Special arrangements for Kumbh Mela
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Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has sanctioned funds for various projects ahead after Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad alleged the administration was "yet to start preparations" for the Kumbh Mela. The Haridwar railway station is being readied for devotees coming to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela event, the Railways ministry said. Several special trains will ply on various routes including Howrah-Dehradun-Howrah via Haridwar, Howrah-Yoganagri Rishikesh-Howrah and Patna-Kota-Patna. The Centre has also approved the deployment of 40 companies of paramilitary forces, including seven companies each of the SSB and the CISF, six of the ITBP and 10 each of the BSF and the CRPF, for the meal. NSG commandos, snipers and bomb disposal squads with anti-sabotage sniffer dogs are also deployed on the state government's request. Believed to be the largest religious congregation in the world, the Kumbh Mela is held at the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswati (Sangam) in Prayagraj and on the banks of the river Godavari, Shipra and Ganga in Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar respectively, once in twelve years.