Kumbh Mela Inspector General (IG) Sanjay Gunjyal has admitted that it is difficult to ensure social distancing norms during the ongoing mela in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar.
“We are continuously appealing to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behavior. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible to issue challans today. It is very difficult to ensure social distancing at ghats,” Gunjyal said.
“A stampede-like situation may arise if we would try to enforce social distancing at ghats so we are unable to enforce social distancing here,” he said.
Uttarakhand: People take a holy dip in Ganga river at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar.
Kumbh Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal says, “General public will be allowed here till 7 am. After that, this area will be reserved for akharas”. pic.twitter.com/9PtcP9WwwG
— ANI (@ANI) April 11, 2021
On Monday, hundreds of devotees took a dip in river Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar on the occasion of the second ‘shahi snan’ in Kumbh.
Gunjyal said, “General public will be allowed here till 7 am. After that, this area will be reserved for akharas”.
A stampede-like situation may arise if we would try to enforce social distancing at ghats so we are unable to enforce social distancing here: Kumbh Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal (2/2) pic.twitter.com/sqHwbon3WK
— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2021
Uttarakhand reported 1,333 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Sunday taking the total number of the cases in the state to 1,08,812.
The active cases in the state now stand at 7,323.
Officials said over 350 CCTV cameras have been installed at different locations in the mela area, with about 100 of these equipped with sensors that generate an alert when the camera captures the image of a person without a mask. Being deployed for the first time at the Kumbh mela in Haridwar, the AI-equipped cameras also generate an alert when sites identified as vulnerable for stampede — Har-ki-Pauri, Subhash ghat, Brahmakund, Malviya Dweep — see a higher crowd density.
