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image captionOfficial said that till noon on Wednesday nearly 900,000 devotees took a dip in the holy river
Hundreds of devotees, including nine top saints, have tested positive for Covid-19 in India s Haridwar city where huge crowds have gathered to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival.
More than three million Hindu devotees bathed in the Ganges river on Tuesday to mark one of the most auspicious days of the two-month-long festival.
Millions are expected to repeat the ritual on Wednesday.
India reported 184,372 new cases on Tuesday - its highest-daily spike yet.
Many have criticised the government for allowing the festival to go ahead amid a raging pandemic.
Hundreds test positive for Covid at Kumbh Mela
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Hundreds test positive for Covid at Kumbh Mela
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Millions of pilgrims gather on banks of Ganges despite surging Covid infections
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Kumbh Mela officials have made all arrangements for the three key bathing dates on the banks of Ganga but said they do not expect any huge turnout of devotees due to anti-Covid restrictions imposed amid the rising cases of infection. We always make arrangements for the Kumbh in accordance with the largest estimated turnouts. So, we are well prepared to tackle any situation, Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal said. But with the second wave of coronavirus infection getting stronger and the SOPs in force, we don t expect huge crowds on the ghats on the Shahi Snan days, he added. Over 12,000 police and 400 paramilitary force personnel are keeping an eye on Kumbh Kshetra spread over an area of 670 hectares from Haridwar to Devprayag to maintain law and order and ensure that the anti-Covid protocol is strictly followed.