14 Jan 2021
Indian government officials expect “several million” people to gather in northern India’s Uttarakhand state over the next several weeks as part of the Hindu Kumbh Mela pilgrimage.
Four different cities in India alternate hosting duties for Kumbh Mela. “This year, beginning Thursday [January 14], Haridwar is the host, and several million people were expected to throng the holy city in Uttarakhand over the coming seven weeks,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Wednesday.
“The pandemic is a bit of a worry, but we are taking all precautions,” festival organizer Siddharth Chakrapani told AFP, adding that he “expected between 8,00,000 to 10 lakh [1 million] people to attend on Thursday alone.”