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.”
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], January 13 (ANI): Commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) will be deployed in Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela, Uttarakhand police announced on Wednesday.
The announcement came after Major General VS Ranade, NSG (IG Operations) met Uttarakhand Police Commissioner Ashok Kumar and discussed the deployment of NSG.
Ashok Kumar said that to take action against the anti-national elements, two NSG teams will be deployed during Kumbh Mela. The NSG teams will also train our Anti-Terrorist Squad, he said.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand High Court has asked the state government to present before it a plan concerning crowd control and other arrangements related to Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
Major General VS Ranade, NSG (IG Operations) meeting Uttarakhand Police Commissioner Ashok Kumar in Dehradun. (Photo/ANI)
NSG commandos to be deployed during Kumbh Mela in Haridwar ANI | Updated: Jan 14, 2021 00:43 IST
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], January 13 (ANI): Commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) will be deployed in Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela, Uttarakhand police announced on Wednesday.
The announcement came after Major General VS Ranade, NSG (IG Operations) met Uttarakhand Police Commissioner Ashok Kumar and discussed the deployment of NSG.
Ashok Kumar said that to take action against the anti-national elements, two NSG teams will be deployed during Kumbh Mela. The NSG teams will also train our Anti-Terrorist Squad.