The date of Haridwar Mahakumbh 2021 to be held in the corona (COVID-19) period has been reduced again in view of the threat of infection. This decision has been issued by the State Government of Uttarakhand with a detailed guideline for devotees visiting Kumbh Mela.
The State Government has now fixed the time period for Kumbh Mela from 1st April to 30th April. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Om Prakash. The official notification regarding Kumbh Mela will be issued by the State Government soon. In view of corona infection, the first Kumbh Mela period was proposed from 27th February to 27th April. However, earlier Kumbh Mela was held for four months starting from January till April.
Haridwar Kumbh Mela 2021: Now for one month
The government has been engaged in preparations for a long time for Maha Kumbh 2021 in Haridwar. But the corona crisis has increased the problems of the government. In Kumbh, millions of people from all around the world are gathered. The biggest concern is the prevention of corona infection.
However, in view of the increasing cases of corona infection in the past, the Government had decided to keep the Kumbh period 48 days. However, later on, the corona cases decreased, the Kumbh Mela was proposed from 27th February and the emphasis was on keeping the time period for two months.
Deadline changed After centre’s guideline
The State Government was requested to issue a guideline on Kumbh from the centre. It was emphasized to control the number of devotees entering Haridwar during Kumbh. Devotees are asked to present the RT PCR negative report which was taken 72 hours before arrival in Haridwar. Not only that, but the centre also asked the Uttarakhand government to determine the maximum number of corona tests in Haridwar during Kumbh in a day.
In a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Om Prakash, it was decided that the Kumbh Mela would start from April one. In view of Kumbh, standard operating procedure (SOP) for 10 sectors has been issued at Haridwar. Now, there is a discussion on issuing another SOP on other points including inter-state transport.
Three royal baths (Shahi Snan) in April
With the change in the period of Kumbh Mela, the dates of Shahi Snan have also been changed. There were four Shahi Snan during the first Kumbh Mela. Now, there will be three Shahi Snan in the month of April during Kumbh due to the limited time period. The first Shahi Snan will be on April 12 (Somvati Amavasya), the second is on April 14 (Baisakhi) and the third shahi snan on April 27 (Purnima).
