KUMBHNAGAR, ALLAHABAD, February 25, 2001: Some of the pilgrims who attended the recently concluded Maha Kumbh Mela would soon receive compensation for injuries sustained during the 42-day-long religious extravaganza, due to the automatic insurance coverage given to every pilgrim. The compensation ranges from US$2,173 to be paid to the relatives of the family who died in an accident in the fair area and amounts ranging from $108 to $65 each for 91 pilgrims who sustained varying degrees of injuries during the event. “This was the first time that pilgrims (at the Kumbh) had been provided an insurance cover,” said fair administrator Jeevesh Nandan. “The fair administration had paid the National Insurance Company a flat premium of $39,130 towards this scheme, that was undertaken by the company as a special case,” Nandan added. Obviously, with a premium like that to cover 70 million people, the company did not expect American-style litigation over injuries.
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