The Kumbh Mela, which is auspicious in the Hindu traditions, is organised in Haridwar this time amidst COVID-19 pandemic. This kumbh is a chaos as no one is seen wearing a mask or maintaining a distance or in fact, no COVID-19 test reports are checked properly.
What kind of preparation for Kumbh between Corona has been made? People are taking tickets for the stations which are 10-15 km before Haridwar so that they don’t have to show a COVID-19 negative test result as they can claim that we came from within the state borders. Similarly, most of them are walking without a mask, without maintaining a safe distance and not having to report the COVID-19 test.
As India and Indians are known for their “Jugaad”, Kumbh has also brought in light some desi jugaad that people are following and kicking the COVID-19 related protocols in air. Like, to come to Haridwar, you don’t have to necessarily buy the ticket directly to Haridwar Junction, right! If you have this information, then you too can join the Kumbh defying all the protocols of corona just like Raman Sangwan and his companions hailing from Haryana. Raman knew that if he would take a ticket to Haridwar Junction, he would be asked to show the Corona negative report. So, to avoid this, he took a ticket to Raiwala Junction, located about 12 km from Haridwar. Then he took an auto from Raiwala and joined the world’s largest fair and no one even asked him about Corona negative report.
Isn’t it bizarre! To much of your knowledge and understanding, let us tell you that Raman is not the only person to do so. These days in Haridwar you can meet thousands of people who are coming to join Kumbh in exactly the same way. Some are coming with tickets from Raiwala, some from Luxor, some from Rishikesh and some from Dehradun. All these people are joining Kumbh without going through the scanning process of Corona, as the investigation of the Corona report is currently confined to Haridwar railway station only.
9The instructions issued by the Central and State Government for this Kumbh Mela that is being held in the Corona period, are currently confined to the papers only. On the official website of Kumbh you find that the central government has issued eight pages of guidelines and the Uttarakhand government has issued 24 pages of guidelines. But in reality, things are very much different than that on the paper.
People wearing Mask are a rare site
As per the guidelines available, every person coming to Kumbh needs to be registered. It is necessary to have a corona report that has been taken 72 hours before coming to Haridwar. It is necessary for everyone to put on a mask and maintain two yards distance. No hotel or Dharamshala is allowed to provide any rooms without a corona test report. And also, nobody will be allowed to participate in the Kumbh without the entry pass and the checkmark of indelible ink on the upper part of the palm.
Look at these guidelines, it will make you wonder how active and prompt the government is about Corona. But, when you actually reach Haridwar, you cannot see any of these conditions far and wide. People who have come to take a dip in holy Ganges, four out of a hundred people also you will not be able to find who has come only after proper registration and check-up. People wearing masks also appear to be a minority compared to those without masks.
Thousands of people wearing saffron dresses taking kavad are seen in Haridwar these days. It is interesting that while the government has issued many guidelines for those coming to Kumbh on one hand, no guidelines have been issued for the pilgrims to Kavad. This loophole has been pointed out by our amazing Indians and are therefore coming to Haridwar in the name of traveling to Kavad. They are not being stopped from taking a bath in the Ganges, who have left their homes and have been traveling all across states and so on foot to perform a ritual. Neither of them is asked to show their negative report of Corona nor are they being asked to follow any other corona protocol.
Suspense regarding the date of Kumbh
It is not completely that the government has not taken any step on the ground to protect this Kumbh from the grip of Corona. When you talk to the officials of the Health Department in Haridwar, you know that they have divided the entire Kumbh region into 4 zones and 23 sectors. Several hospitals and Covid centres have been built in each sector. A temporary hospital with 600 beds for Corona has been specially built for Kumbh and a 150-bed general hospital has also been constructed.
These preparations have been completed in the last five-six months. But at the moment all these hospitals are lying vacant and the temporary tents for Kumbh are also mostly empty. This is also because the situation is still not clear regarding the dates of Kumbh.
There are two contradictory information on the official website of Kumbh. On one hand, there is a constant flash on the website that Kumbh will be from 1 April to 30 April and on the other hand, the same website shows that the first royal bath of Kumbh is on 11 March.
This contradiction in dates is compounded when you see in the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) issued by the Central Government that the date of Kumbh Mela is written to be from 27 February to 30 April. The ceremonial beginning of Kumbh is considered to be the Peshwai (Shobha Yatra) of the different akhadas of the sages and saints. Since this procession has already taken place, it can be said that Kumbh has started. However, on the question of when the official Kumbh will begin? even the government officials are not able to give a clear answer to it, because of the contradictions in the government documents itself.
Similar contradictions are seen when you reach Haridwar Kumbh’s main place – Har ki Paudi. Here instructions and posters have been put in place to stay protected against the novel coronavirus, but those who follow them cannot be seen anywhere. The crowd is so much that perhaps it is not possible to follow them. But you do find it a bit strange when you see a security guard standing just below a huge poster that states ‘stay two yards away, the mask is necessary’, and he appeals to people to stick around so that everyone can see the Ganga Aarti.
Under the given scenario and conditions, this is the time when the number of people who are joining Kumbh is very less. Usually, special trains were run for Kumbh, but now the normal trains coming to Haridwar are still closed due to Corona. At present, a limited number of trains are being run and hence most of the passengers are coming to join the Kumbh by road. The Kumbh region in Haridwar is very narrow and is smaller than Allahabad.
