Secretary of the Niranjani Akhada Mahant Ravindra Puri said that “most of the saints and their followers” in the camps at Haridwar have Covid-19 like symptoms due to which saints of the akhada have decided to end the mela from April 17.
Times View
India may be staring at a public health crisis of frightening proportions. It declared victory to the world after the first wave passed, and let its guard – and mask – down. The numbers are leaping from day to day at a speed that far outstrips last year’s. The huge election rallies, especially in Bengal, and the Maha Kumbh are almost certain to accelerate the spread of the infection. While it may be more localised in poll-bound states – that, at least, is the hope – there’s a deepening fear among public health officials that the dispersal of the millions who have congregated in Haridwar might act as a national super-spreader. The Prime Minister is to be commended for emphasising – during his recent interaction with chief ministers – the need to intensify testing, even if it results in a spike in caseload.Nowhere is that need for testing on a war-footing greater than in Haridwar today. And that must be followed – without an hour’s delay – by a massive tracing and containment exercise. It’s too late to argue over whether such a massive gathering should have been allowed in the first place. What the Uttarakhand government and the Centre need to do now is act with the greatest urgency in checking the spread of the virus. Once the pilgrims board buses and trains, there’s no saying how many more will be exposed across the length and breadth of the country. Faith is a wonderful thing – and many of us seek solace in it in our darkest hours – but then there’s science too. And the science is saying, test, trace, contain. Otherwise many more lives may be placed at risk.