An acharya’s appeal for an immediate end to the Kumbh following a phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi was dismissed by his akhara head on Sunday, raising the possibility of thousands of sadhus staying on for weeks even beyond the scheduled April 30 closure.
“The Prime Minister said something to an acharya and he began talking.. But the Kumbh will continue,” Mahant Hari Giri, international patron of the Juna Akhara, told The Telegraph over the phone from Haridwar on Sunday.
“There remain at least four occasions for holy baths. They include Shankaracharya Jayanti on May 18 and Buddha Purnima on May 26. At least 400 senior sadhus of the Juna Akhara will take the holy dip on May 26 before vacating the area.”