Kumbh Mela: Seers keep last Shahi Snan symbolic affair
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Last Updated: Apr 27, 2021, 02:23 PM IST
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 17 had appealed to sadhus to observe the remaining duration of the Kumbh only in a symbolic manner. Following this different akhadas (sects) had agreed to keep their participation symbolic.
PTI
The last shahi snan at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on Tuesday was a subdued affair with seers keeping the ritual symbolic in view of a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Till 10:45 am, around 670 seers took the royal bath and some more are expected to take it in the day at Har ki Pairi on the banks of the Ganga, officials said.
The last shahi snan at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on Tuesday was a subdued affair with seers keeping the ritual symbolic in view of a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Till 10:45 am, around 670 seers took the royal bath and some more are expected to take it in the day at Har ki Pairi on the banks of the Ganga, officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 17 had appealed to sadhus to observe the remaining duration of the Kumbh only in a symbolic manner. Following this different akhadas (sects) had agreed to keep their participation symbolic. Crowds at the ghats of the Ganga started thinning down drastically since last week after the key akhadas of seers began pulling out of the Maha Kumbh, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, citing the spike in coronavirus case numbers.
File photo of Har Ki Pauri Ghat during Kumbh Mela 2021
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PTI
Till the conclusion of the royal bath, nearly 2,000 seers of 13 akhadas (sects) had taken a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pairi ghat which was reserved exclusively for them The last shahi snan at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on Tuesday was a subdued affair with seers keeping the ritual symbolic in view of a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Till the conclusion of the royal bath, nearly 2,000 seers of 13 akhadas (sects) had taken a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pairi ghat which was reserved exclusively for them, officials said.
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Three akharas have appealed for the Mahakumbh in Haridwar to be closed immediately because of the surge in Covid cases and said they would be leaving from Saturday, their stand dividing the monks at the congregation and inviting attacks.
The administration said it had no plans to prematurely wind up the Kumbh Mela, scheduled to run till April 30.
Mahant Ravindrapuri of the Niranjani Akhara, one of the country’s 13 main akharas (monasteries), said on Friday morning: “We have decided to withdraw from the Mahakumbh on April 17 and vacate the mela (congregation or fair) area to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.”