10 lakh sadhus take a dip amid Covid surge
April 14, 2021 14:41
Throwing caution to the wind amid rising cases of coronavirus, thousands of seers congregated on Wednesday at Har ki Pairi in Haridwar to take a dip in the Ganga during the third shahi snan of the Kumbh mela.
The royal bath' marked Mesh Sankranti and Baisakhi, and fell two days after a similar convergence of sadhus' and other devotees for the second shahi snan -- events where following social distancing norms appears almost impossible.
By noon between eight and 10 lakh people had taken a bath in the river, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, who was supervising the arrangements at Haridwar, said. Sadhus from four of the 13 akhadas were through with the snan' by this time. The officer said the event was going on without any hindrance.
He said the crowds at the Ganga ghats were much smaller than expected at the third shahi snan - considered the most important in the series - and attributed this to the Covid restrictions in place. Police personnel were seen distributing masks among people in the Mela area. However, social distancing norms were violated openly by the seers when they and their followers descended the steps at Har ki Pairi to wade into the river. No masks were worn by a large proportion of them.
The seers from the akhadas took the dip along with their revered deities carried in ornate palanquins at Har Ki Pairi, which was reserved exclusively for them. Lakhs of common devotees bathed at the other ghats of the river in Haridwar and Rishikesh. Seers and Naga sanyasis of the Niranjani Akhada led by Acharya Kailashanand Giri were the first to bathe in the river along with Anand Akhada seers. They were followed by the Joona Akhada, which has the highest number of sadhus led by Swami Avadheshanand.
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