MUMBAI (RNS) As COVID-19 infections rise in India, the local and national government’s decision to allow a shortened edition of a festival known as Kumbh Mela is being scrutinized as a cause for some of the spread of the virus but also a sign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP-led government favoring Hindu beliefs over safety.
Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival that takes place on the banks of the Ganges River in Haridwar, in the hill state of Uttarakhand, was held through April, with two of its most sacred bathing days attracting millions. Typically lasting from January to April, it is held approximately once every 12 years, with the last edition held in 2010.
By Jessie Yeung, Esha Mitra and Manveena Suri, CNN
Updated 4:26 AM ET, Thu April 1, 2021
Hindu devotees attend evening prayers during Kumbh Mela in Haridwar on March 11.
New Delhi (CNN)Massive crowds of Hindus began arriving in the northern Indian city of Haridwar on Thursday for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, even as experts warned it could cause a surge in Covid-19 cases as the country grapples with a second wave.
The months-long Kumbh Mela festival, one of the most important Hindu celebrations, typically takes place every 12 years and draws tens of millions of pilgrims to four rotating sites.
This year, it takes place in Haridwar, in the foothills of the outer Himalayas in Uttarakhand state, where devotees attend prayers, and wash their sins away in the sacred waters of the Ganges River. According to some myths associated with the festival, the river water turns into amrita, or the nectar of immortality, on particular days.
Mass religious festival goes ahead in India despite coronavirus fears April 01, 2021
Massive crowds of Hindus began arriving in the northern Indian city of Haridwar on Thursday for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, even as experts warned it could cause a surge in COVID-19 cases as the country grapples with a second wave. Courtesy file photo
NEW DELHI Massive crowds of Hindus began arriving in the northern Indian city of Haridwar on Thursday for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, even as experts warned it could cause a surge in COVID-19 cases as the country grapples with a second wave.
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Earlier on March 10, Chief Minister Rawat had been sworn in all alone. Barring the newly-appointed state BJP president Madan Kaushik, all other state ministers during former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat's term have been made ministers in the new government.