HARIDWAR, INDIA, April 19 2021 (Business Standard): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday had appealed to the sadhus to observe the remaining duration of the Kumbh Mela only in a symbolic manner. There is hardly any crowd now at the bathing ghats where droves of sadhus and common devotees had gathered for a dip in the river on the shahi snan of April 14, defying Covid-19 norms like social distancing. Most of the devotees have already left and the akhadas have been winding up their camps one after another. Panch Dashnam Joona Akhada, the largest among them, announced its exit from the Kumbh Mela soon after PM Modi’s appeal to sadhus, referring to the rise in coronavirus cases. Niranjani, Anand, Avahan, Agni and Kinnar sects too ended their participation in what is perhaps the largest religious congregation in the world.
Most of the sanyasi akhadas have vacated their camps. Only 1,000-2,000 seers of the six Bairagi akhadas are still in the mela kshetra waiting for the last shahi snan slated for April 27,” Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said. “After the shahi snans of April 12 and 14 several akhadas left and not much is left in the Kumbh area. Practically, the kumbh kshetra is empty now and no one is expected to come from outside,” he said. Traditionally, the last shahi snan held on Ram Navami is a main event for the Bairagi sect and not for the others. Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Sunday said the shahi snan at the kumbh has been conducted successfully with everyone’s cooperation. The prime minister’s appeal to seers has also evoked a positive response from the sadhus, he added. Haridwar’s Chief Medical Officer S.K. Jha said over 150 seers had tested positive for Covid from April 1 to 18.