Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, 17: After more than 2,300 “devotees” reported Corona positive in the last six days with 75 per cent of the festivities already over, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday “appealed” to the Hindu sadhus and saints to turn the on-going “Kumbh Mela” into a “symbolic one” to give “boost” to the fight against pandemic.
The government, however, still did not dare to take a decision to cut short the “Kumbh Mela” at Haridwar apparently apprehending that such a move could cost the BJP some Hindu votes in the on-going elections. A suggestion to this effect was made from various sources since lakhs of people kept converging on the banks of the river Ganga with more than 14 lakh people taking a holy dip on the third “shahi snan” on Thursday, but both the BJP governments at the centre and in Uttarakhand refused to act on the suggestion.
Now with only one “shahi snan” left on April 27 before the Mela officially ends on April 30, the centre apparently has realized that it would be too difficult to sustain the gatherings for 10 more days without severely affecting the fragile health infrastructure of the country that the prime minster has stepped in to issue an “appeal.” Modi said the mega Kumbh Mela “should now only be symbolic amid the coronavirus crisis”, stressing that it will give a boost to the fight against the pandemic.
Huge gatherings of tens of thousands of pilgrims – along the banks of the Ganga – in the last few days have sparked nationwide concern as India, hit by the second Covid wave continue to see an alarming surge in infections and has already earned the dubious distinction of being the second worst hit nation in the world after the United States.
Even before the prime minister’s “appeal,” at least two of the 13 “akhadas” participating in the Haridwar Kumbh Mela have decided to de-link themselves from the festivities and returned to their respective camps after a seer of one of the “akhadas” died from Covid and over 2,300 devotees testing positive.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said he spoke to one of the top seers – Swami Avdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhada – over the phone and made an appeal about the religious festival that attracts millions of devotees.
“I appealed that two ”shahi snan” (royal baths) have taken place and Kumbh (participation) should now be kept symbolic. This will give a boost to the fight against this crisis,” Modi tweeted in Hindi.
Responding to PM Modi’s tweet, Swami Avdheshanand replied in Hindi: “We respect PM Modi’s appeal. Saving lives is sacred. I request people to not gather for the ritual bath in large numbers and follow all Covid protocols.”
This year, the mega Kumbh Mela or pitcher festival has already been shortened to just one month from April 1 to 30 due to the pandemic. Usually, the event is held from mid-January to April.
On Wednesday, reports that the akhadas – which wield enormous power and influence – had agreed to call off the Kumbh in the face of mounting health concerns were quickly dismissed. Officials insisted no talks had taken place, and that the Kumbh would continue as scheduled. “The Kumbh Mela used to begin in January, but looking at the Covid situation, the state government decided to start it in April this time. The centre’s rules said because of the situation, the duration would be reduced. I have no information of it being curtailed,” said Deepak Rawat, District Magistrate, Haridwar, and Kumbh Mela officer.
India has been witnessing an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases for the last few weeks. On Saturday, 2,34,692 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the biggest daily spike so far.
Kumbh Mela – a mass congregation of pilgrims who gather to take a holy dip in a sacred river- “is considered to be the largest peaceful gathering in the world,” according to a government website. A ritual bath – at a predetermined time and place – is the major event of the festival, it says.
This year, however, the second COVID-19 wave has cast a shadow on the festival. After he attended the festival, Swami Kapil Dev from Madhya Pradesh, who was the leader of the Maha Nirvani Akhada, died while being treated for a coronavirus infection at a private hospital in Dehradun. Many of the saints attending the Mela have tested positive while the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the former chief minister ad Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav have also contacted the virus while seeking blessings from the seers in Haridwar.
The authorities in many parts of the country are worried what might happen to their respective areas when the affected “devotees” from the Kumbh Mela start returning to their respective destinations. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation mayor Kishori Pednekar, however, made her anxiey public. “The Pilgrims returning from the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar will distribute coronavirus as “prasad” in their states,” she said as Mumbai kept battling against the spread of the virus with every passing day creating a new record of daily surge.
She said the BMC was considering quarantining the pilgrims on their return to Mumbai with the expenses of the quarantine period on their own heads.
“Those returning from Kumbh Mela to their respective states will distribute corona as ‘prasad‘. All these people should be quarantined in their respective states at their own cost. In Mumbai also, we’re thinking of putting them under quarantine on their return,” Pednekar said.
Pednekar also said that a “complete lockdown” should be imposed in Mumbai due to the raging pandemic.
“95 per cent of Mumbaikars are adhering to COVID-19 restrictions. The remaining 5 per cent of people who are not following restrictions are causing problems to others. I think a complete lockdown should be imposed looking at the current COVID-19 situation,” Pednekar said,
The Mayor’s comments come as Maharashtra recorded the highest-ever surge in cases in the last 24 hours with 63,729 infections in a single day with 398 deaths. Maharashtra’s caseload is past the 37-lakh mark now. State capital Mumbai logged 8,803 new cases and 53 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, just days ago, stopped short of enforcing a lockdown but announced tough restrictions for the next 15 days that include a ban on gatherings and only essential activities to break the chain of Covid infections that he said were “exploding dangerously” in the state. “The war has begun again,” he said, addressing the state on the massive surge in cases.