The Uttarakhand High Court had recently said: “first we make the mistake of holding Kumbh Mela, then there is Char Dham; Why do we repeatedly embarrass ourselves”. The HC had berated the government for not being adequately prepared and ignoring the scientific community’s warning about the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.   In April, media reports stated that at least “9.1 million pilgrims visited Haridwar for the Mahakumbh”. The details were shared by the organisers themselves. The Kumbh Mela, then made international news as violation of Covid-19 protocols among the massive crowds became apparent, even as Covid-19 surged across the country. 

On April 27,  over  25,000 devotees and 1,000 seers participated in the final Shahi Snan (royal or most holy dip) of the Kumbh Mela 2021. These were said to be some sort of restricted crowds after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal on April 18 that Kumbh celebrations be only “symbolic”. Hours after the Shahi Snan concluded, Haridwar’s district administration announced a ‘corona curfew’ from April 28 to the morning of May 3. However, by then hundreds were reported to have tested Covid-19 positive at the mela. 

By May, those returning from the mela had possibly begun spreading the infection, as they travelled back to their hometowns across the country. A BBC report was one of the first to use the word “super spreader” for the event.  It listed states that had traced some new Covid-19 infections to Kumbh Mela returnees testing positive. The report put on record that “Authorities in Rajasthan blame the pilgrims for the rapid spread of Covid cases in the state, especially in rural areas”. Kumbh returnees had also tested positive in Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, even in the neighbouring country Nepal, where the former king and queen were infected.

However, by the end of May, the Uttarakhand state government officials, “after a detailed review,” have assessed that the attendance figure was “almost 70%” down, to an estimated 15 lakh, for the three crucial days of the Kumbh: April 12, 13, and 14. According to the government a total of 49 lakh devotees had taken a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri and linked ghats in Haridwar but for these days, Sanjay Gunjyal, Inspector General of Police, Kumbh Mela, told the media that: “the footfall on April 12 was only 21 lakh; on April 13 around 3 lakh and on April 14, about 12 lakh.” These ‘new’ numbers are much lower than what the state government itself had claimed earlier. 

In April, according to an Indian Express report, Uttarakhand had said “over 31 lakh people took a dip on the second shahi shan on April 12; 4.5 lakh on April 13; and over 13.5 lakh on April 14.” 

However, according to Gunjyal: “The earlier data was based on headcount. But the data for April 12 had been miscalculated by adding data from other days as well.” According to the report these low numbers are “based on a review of all key mobility indicators, which include occupancy figures for all hotels in the district, vacancies in registered parking lots, cellphone presence accessed from mobile towers, and passenger traffic for vehicles and on all trains to and from Haridwar.” But then what was the head count all about? Who were those people and where did they disappear?

 According to Uttarakhand Congress Senior Vice-President Suryakant Dhasmana quoted by the IE, the state government exaggerated the footfall data to show it successfully organised a grand mela. He said “footfall was less than the figures claimed by the government. With such exaggerated data, the state government tried to cover-up its failure in making preparations, essential to protect devotees from Covid.” he said. When contacted, Cabinet Minister and government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said figures of footfall announced by administration were correct. “But it is also true that footfall was less on shahi snan this time as compared to previous Kumbh. Common people came in very less numbers, mainly saints who stayed during Kumbh,” he said.

It is important to put this in perspective with what happened in March 2020. The state and Union government had cracked down on the Tablighi Jamaat HQ in Delhi, and blamed its annual event for the spread of Covid-19 in India. There were around 1,000 members of the Jamat who had been stranded at its headquarters Nizamuddin Markaz, in Delhi after the sudden declaration of the lockdown. The Delhi government called it a hot spot. Soon it was called a ‘super spreader’ event, as mainstream media began reporting how Markaz attendees had travelled to different parts of the country from Delhi.  Tablighi Jamaat, and Muslims by extension were blamed for spreading Covid-19 in India as a full blown media trial ensued, followed by government crackdown, arrests, vilification, violence and hate speech. After 11 state governments also filed 205 FIRs against 2,765 foreign nationals for allegedly violating visa terms and intentionally disregarding Covid-19 guidelines, not one member of the Tablighi Jamaat, a back-to-roots Islamic movement, was convicted by any court. An analysis of these multiple orders revealed  how the Courts have seriously questioned the charges invoked against them, quashing the cases filed against them are slowly emerging.

A year later in April 2021, Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat decaled:  “Don’t compare Kumbh Mela to Markaz event,” even as images of thick crowds of thousands of devotees, many without masks flooded social media. When reminded that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians had raised a hue and cry on the Nizamuddin Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat as being a super spreader. Rawat laughed it off saying there was no comparison and the “Kumbh did not have any outsiders” but “our own pilgrims”. “That time there was no checking, and this time we know who came when. That was a small space, Kumbh is a massive area. This is a matter of ‘astha’ faith”. Around 32 lakh devotees were at Haridwar for the first shahi snan on March 11, Mahashivaratri it was reported. Some of these numbers, it seems, have been washed away too.

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Kumbh Mela: Over 25,000 devotees and 1,000 seers participate in Shahi Snan

The post How did the Kumbh Mela attendance record drop to 21 Lakh from 49 Lakh? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Tuesday, over  25,000 devotees and 1,000 seers participated in the final Shahi Snan (royal or most holy dip) of the Kumbh Mela 2021. These are said to be some sort of restricted crowds after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal on April 18 that Kumbh celebrations be only “symbolic”.

The mela will soon end officially, and most of the visitors will begin leaving for their home states via various modes of transport. It is not yet known if all these visitors to the massively crowded Kumbh Mela would have tested negative for Covid-19 before they leave, or if all other states will ensure they are quarantined and tested as a precaution on arrival. 

Meanwhile, hours after the Shahi Snan concluded on April 27, Haridwar’s district administration announced a ‘corona curfew’ from April 28 to the morning of May 3.  According to The Indian Express, IG Kumbh Mela, Sanjay Gunjyal, said, “Following appeal from the Prime Minister and constant review by the Chief Minister, akharas cooperated in keeping the crowd low today. There were meetings with akharas daily over the last three days on crowd management. They followed social distancing too. Even Naga sadhus wore masks.”

According to the IE police personnel also took part in the shahi snan said it was “symbolic”. Police, told the media that around around 85 seers from Niranjani and Anand akhadas, 250 from Juna, Agni and Ahvaham; 80 from Mahanirvani and Atal; around 600 from Nirmohi, Nirvani and Diganmbar, around 230 from Bada Udaseen and Naya Udaseen and 100 from Nirmal akhara took part in the Shahi Snan Tuesday. Add to that the devotees who had come from across the country to take part in the kumbh mela. 

According to the news report, the footfall of devotees at the first shahi snan on March 11 was around 32 lakh, and was the same on the second shahi snan on April 14, 13 lakh took part in  the third Shahi Snan on April 14. The news report quoted Juna Akhara spokesperson Mahant Narayan Giri who said, “In view of appeals from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, we kept the shahi snan symbolic today. Around 5,000 seers and followers with 150 chariots had taken part in each of the past three shahi snans… Around 90 per cent seers and followers who had come from other states have already returned.”

However, The New Indian Express reported there has been an “explosive 1,800% spike in active cases in Uttarakhand between March 31 and April 24, a period coinciding with the Haridwar Mahakumbh”. This clearly indicates that the Kumbh Mela may have turned into a super spreader event. Before the Kumbh, the state had 1,863 active cases as on March 31, it reached 33,330 cases on April 24. According to the government’s data, it has been reported that over 35 lakh people gathered at Haridwar on April 12, over 13.51 lakh on April 14. 

Lies about Kumbh Mela & Covid:

I’d filed an RTI with CMO Haridwar asking how many Covid-19 tests were conducted in the 14-day period from 1st April to 14th April at Kumbh Mela.

Remember: over 3.5 million people bathed in the river on just ONE DAY so imagine the footfall.

(1/7) pic.twitter.com/0a1eZ0AEY6

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) April 24, 2021

Those who have already left Haridwar may have already carried the Covid-19 infection with them and are all potential super spreaders. A celebrity example is that of Nepal’s former royals, King Gyanendra Shah (73) and Queen Komal Shah (70), who tested positive for Covid-19 days after their return home from the Mahakumbh Mela in Uttarakhand reported Hindustan Times. The Himalayan Times reported that the couple’s RT-PCR tests were confirmed positive, and authorities were tracing others who have been in contact with the couple. The couple had taken a holy bath at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar during the Mahakumbh. Hundreds of people had gathered at the airport in Kathmandu to welcome the couple on their return, stated news reports. Indian music composer Shravan Rathod who had also gone to the Kumbh, succumbed earlier this week to Covid-19 complications.

Related:

Don’t compare Kumbh Mela to Markaz event: Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat

Muslim advocacy group’s tweet comparing Kumbh Mela with Tablighi Jamaat blocked

Can’t let Char Dham yatra become hotspot, Uttarakhand HC takes stock of Covid 

The post Kumbh Mela: Over 25,000 devotees and 1,000 seers participate in Shahi Snan appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On April 13, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) tweeted a Vice Media article about the Kumbh Mela saying, “As India’s COVID cases hit a new high, tens of thousands took a ritual bath together” and more text on an image of the Kumbh saying, “Tablighi Jamaat was ‘Corona Jihad’, but no one’s said a word about the Kumbh Mela with millions of attendees”.

But it was allegedly taken down by Twitter at the behest of the ruling regime. The IAMC, that aims for “empowerment through strategic advocacy for peace, pluralism and social justice” has now condemned the action. In a statement released over the weekend, IAMC has “expressed dismay over the government of India’s continued obsession with managing the news coverage of the pandemic instead of the pandemic itself.”

The group said, “As the pandemic rages across India accounting for almost half of all new cases globally, the government ordered Twitter to block over 50 tweets that criticized its complete mismanagement of the pandemic. Among them was a tweet by Indian American Muslim Council, comparing the rabid Islamophobia targeting the Tablighi Jamaat and all Indian Muslims in the early days of the pandemic with the near silence over government support for the massive Kumbh Mela, that has endangered the lives of millions of Hindu devotees and their fellow citizens.”

IAMC also shared a screengrab of the tweet. It may be viewed here:

Khalid Ansari, Vice-President of IAMC said, “The catastrophic surge in Covid-19 cases across India and the collapse of the country’s healthcare system is a monumental albeit avoidable tragedy for which the responsibility lies squarely on the government’s misplaced priorities.”

The groups statement goes on to point out “super spreader” events saying, “Far from leading by example to overcome the crisis, the Modi administration promoted the spread of the virus by organizing countless super spreader events in the form of election rallies where masking was not enforced and where Mr. Modi as well as Home Minister Amit Shah addressed massive crowds.”

As many as 52 tweets by journalists, activists and different organisations were allegedly blocked, in response to a request by the Government of India on Thursday. Medianama first broke the news of this after Twitter disclosed the legal takedown notice to the Lumen Database. Tweets removed include those by Revanth Reddy, a Member of Parliament from Telangana, West Bengal’s Labour and Law Minister Moloy Ghatak, actor Vineet Kumar Singh and many others. The entire Twitter account of Swaraj Abhiyan activist Zia Nomani was also suspended.

Twitter’s response

In response to the Medianama story, a Twitter spokesperson told the technology policy website, “When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only.”

Twitter’s past actions

This is not the first time Twitter has allegedly succumbed to pressure from the Indian government. SabrangIndia had previously reported that Kisan Ekta Morcha (KEM), the official handle of the farmers’ struggle, news magazine The Caravan and multiple media personnel lost access to their Twitter accounts on February 1, 2021 “in response to a legal demand.” However, these accounts were then reinstated by Twitter attracting the wrath of the Indian government.

On February 3, the central government issued a notice to Twitter for “unilaterally” unblocking over 250 such accounts despite being given specific orders by the Government to block them.

Then on February 10, 2021 Twitter said that it would not block accounts of journalists, activists and politicians because such an action would “violate fundamental right to free expression under Indian law.” In a blog post, Twitter further said, “In keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians. To do so, we believe, would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law.”

What followed was a virtual meeting between Secretary Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy), Government of India and a team from Twitter comprising Monique Meche, Vice President Global Public Policy and Jim Baker Deputy General Counsel and Vice President Legal. In a statement released after that meeting, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that the Secretary had taken “this opportunity to remind Twitter that in India, its Constitution and laws are supreme. It is expected that responsible entities not only reaffirm but remain committed to compliance to the law of land.” There were also media reports about the possibility of arrest of top executives of Twitter at that time. But no further action was taken against any Twitter employee after that.

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Blocking accounts of journalists, activists, a violation of fundamental rights: Twitter

Centre issues notice to Twitter over reinstating blocked accounts

Twitter handles covering the kisan andolan withheld, gov’t scared?

The post Muslim advocacy group’s tweet comparing Kumbh Mela with Tablighi Jamaat blocked appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Don’t compare Kumbh Mela to Markaz event,” said Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat in a video interview to Hindustan Times even as images of thick crowds of thousands of devotees, many without masks flooded social media well into Monday.

India has reported a record daily tally of over 1,68,912 Covid-19 infections by Monday. According to multiple reports this may grow and fuel yet another spike. According to the BBC, India now accounts for one in every six daily infections worldwide and has overtaken Brazil, on Monday with an overall tally of 13.53 million cases. Second only to the United States, which has a total of 31.2 million cases. 

Even as state elections continue in West Bengal, the next state in focus is Uttarakhand where the Kumbh Mela, one of the biggest religious gatherings in the world, is in full swing. In Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, lakhs of devotees are converging on the banks of the Ganga for a holy dip. The invite to them seems to have come from none other than the state’s Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who himself has recently recovered from Covid-19. Rawat has been sharing the importance of the mela encouraging people to “bathe the Ganges in Kumbh,” adding that they must follow Covid-19 guidelines and SOPs. 

भगवान शिव की आराधना की प्रतीक पुण्यदायी सोमवती अमावस्या की आप सभी प्रदेशवासियों को हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं। भगवान गौरीशंकर के आशीर्वाद से आपके जीवन में हमेशा सुख-शांति बनी रहे।
इस अवसर पर कुंभ में गंगा स्नान कर पुण्य लाभ अर्जित करें साथ ही कोविड की गाइडलाइन का अवश्य पालन करें। pic.twitter.com/0r9ozT3INJ

— Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 12, 2021

However, Covid-19 prevention guidelines include adequate social distancing, and wearing appropriate masks. None of those are being followed here as the many visuals have shown. People are growing in processions, at ghats often without masks. In the water, masks are not helpful anyway. 

The state authorities say they have made virus tests mandatory for those entering its borders, however social distancing is not even a thought here. In the last 24 hours only over a thousand cases have been detected, however it is not known yet if tests were also carried out near the mela site, as well, as the rule said a Covid-19 negative certificate was mandatory.

The CM has claimed the state is well prepared, he says Kumbh is connected with not just India but the world, and people wait for 12 years making a vow to take the holy dip. He told the Hindustan Times that when he took over “Covid-19 was near zero” and hence the state organised a grand welcome for those coming for the Kumbh with flower showers from helicopters and other elaborate preparations. He said “masks and sanitizers” have been arranged at the state borders and maintained that his state is following the Centre’s Covid-19 prevention guidelines of masks and sanitizers. On social distancing he said “we will make efforts”. However, Rawat was unable to explain what the state government’s plan was on maintaining social distancing but said “earlier people were scared of coming to the Kumbh” and said after he allayed their fears then 32 lakh came on Mahashivratri, a few days ago. The CM has so far refused to answer any questions on the massive crowds seen at the Kumbh Mela.

When reminded that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians had raised a hue and cry on the Nizamuddin Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat as being a super spreader. Rawat laughed it off saying there was no comparison and the “Kumbh did not have any outsiders” but “our own pilgrims”. “That time there was no checking, and this time we know who came when. That was a small space, Kumbh is a massive area. This is a matter of ‘astha’ faith”. Around 32 lakh devotees were at Haridwar for the first shahi snan on March 11, Mahashivaratri.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Police are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to zoom in on those not wearing masks, reported Indian Express, and had installed over 350 CCTV cameras in the mela area, and a 100 of these had AI sensors that will alert the authorities when a person without a mask is spotted. According to the report the alert is relayed to police surveillance control room in Mela Bhawan near Har Ki Pauri “who share the location of the violator to the nearest enforcement teams. The person is handed, besides a free mask, punishment as per rules”. However the videos and photos from the sight show scores without masks in crowded areas. The Kumbh Mela formally started on April 1. According to news reports the Kumbh mela sees a daily average of “over three lakh devotees at the various ghats in Haridwar, but that number is expected to swell during the shahi snans on April 12, 14 and 27”.

Thousands of devotees, some of them without masks, gathered by the river Ganges in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar for prayers during the #KumbhMela2021 pic.twitter.com/ISuZWVb3LK

— NDTV (@ndtv) April 12, 2021

Remember Corona Jihad headlines?

It was just a year ago, in March 2020, when the authorities cracked down on the Muslim congregation called, Tablighi Jamaat holding it responsible for the spread of Covid-19 in India. Around 1,000 members of the Jamat had been stranded at its headquarters Nizamuddin Markaz, in Delhi after the sudden declaration of the lockdown. It was identified as a hotspot by the Delhi government and it was reported that many people who attended the congregation had travelled to different parts of the country before the national lockdown could be announced. From here on several conjectures were reached that Covid numbers persons were increasing in the country because the Jamaat members “brought the virus into the country, that there was a controversy to spread the virus in the country and so on.” A full blown media trial, government crackdown, arrests etc ensused, as did villification, violence and hate against the muslim community at large.

Eventually the many cases filed against them were, one by one, dismissed by courts either by stating that the majority of them were eventually tested negative, or on the ground that no case was made out against them and they were merely seeking refuge in mosques owing to the suddenly announced nationwide lockdown. A year after 11 state governments also filed 205 FIRs against 2,765 foreign nationals for allegedly violating visa terms and intentionally disregarding Covid-19 guidelines, not one member of the Tablighi Jamaat, a back-to-roots Islamic movement, has been convicted by any court. An analysis of these multiple orders reveals that the Courts have seriously questioned the charges invoked against them, quashing the cases filed against them are slowly emerging.

Recently, Bebaak Collective published a report Communalisation of Covid-19 highlighting that Muslims were quickly equated with the ‘virus’ and the ‘disease’ itself, and feared, hated and contained. The report covers seven states of northern, western and central India documents the synchronised working of the media, police and state authorities as the primary force which allowed for the discrimination, violence and exclusion faced by Muslims during the pandemic. A petition was also filed before the Supreme Court against the communalisation of Covid-19 by the news media, and the narrative that ran with it. The case is pending before the court.

Fast forward to April 2021, even as ‘faith’ takes over Covid-19 protocols AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has warned that crowded places are “super-spreader events.” Guleria, reported Mint has said that “people not adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour and the circulation of highly infectious strains of SARS-COV-2 could be the primary reasons behind the surge in coronavirus infections in India. He also warned that if the situation is not reversed, then the galloping infection rate will eventually cause a huge strain on the country’s healthcare system.” He asked that, “unless it is important, people should not venture out” adding that “it has to be ensured that there is no gathering and stricter enforcement of COVID-appropriate behaviour has to be ensured”.

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Union Health Minister blames states, citizens for Covid surge

The post Don’t compare Kumbh Mela to Markaz event: Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Centre has directed the Uttarakhand government to follow strict Covid-19 spread prevention measures during the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Lakhs of pilgrims are expected to visit the state for the event. According to a report in NDTV, the directions were sent after a high-level team which travelled to Uttarakhand state raised concerns after reviewing medical care and public health arrangements for the Kumbh Mela. Now the state government has been told by the union Health Ministry “to increase the number of Covid testing as per the ICMR guidelines to ensure that the pilgrims and local population is appropriately tested”.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary, recommending “periodic testing of frontline workers before and after auspicious snan, effective risk communication, enhanced testing in potential high transmission areas” among other measures. He has noted that pilgrims could arrive from any of the states which are currently recording a surge in Covid cases, and that there “is a potential of an upsurge in cases in the local population after the auspicious Shahi Snan days during the Kumbh Mela.” According to the news report, it was also reported by the central team, that “10-20 pilgrims and 10-20 locals are being reported positive every day. This positivity rate has the potential to rapidly turning to an upsurge in cases, given the expected large footfall during Kumbh.” Meanwhile, Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, announced that he too had tested Covid-19 positive. 

मेरी कोरोना टेस्ट रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आई है। मैं ठीक हूँ और मुझे कोई परेशानी नहीं है । डॉक्टर्स की निगरानी में मैंने स्वयं को आइसोलेट कर लिया है ।आप में से जो भी लोग गत कुछ दिनों में मेरे निकट संपर्क में आयें हैं, कृपया सावधानी बरतें और अपनी जाँच करवाएं।

— Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) March 22, 2021

He had recently announced a relaxation Covid-19 restrictions in the state. Rawat had said that the pilgrims visiting the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar do not have to carry Covid-19 negative RT-PCR reports. Rawat also said, he “asked the secretary to respect akharas, shower flowers on them by helicopters, but also let the public come.”

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had also tested positive for Covid-19 on March 19, and was admitted to AIIMS Covid Centre in Delhi for observation. 

India recorded 46,951 new cases in the last 24 hours.  

According to information shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India recorded 46,951 new cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh together account for 84.49% of the total new cases registered in the last 24 hours stated the MoHFW. This marks a four-month high and is the highest surge noted so far this year. According to MoHFW, the nationwide tally now stands at 1,16,46,081, Covid-19 cases. India’s total Active Caseload has reached 3,34,646.  

Centre says Covishield Second Dose Gap To Be Increased Up To 8 Weeks

A new Covid-19 vaccination related instruction has been issued by the Centre, now recommending that the gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine be increased to six-to-eight weeks for better results. It was earlier 28 days, now the Centre has sent fresh instructions to all states and Union Territories. This comes in the middle of round two of nationwide vaccinations, in which people above 60 and those over 45 with co-morbidities are being inoculated. The revised interval applies only to Serum Institute of India’s Covishield – the vaccine developed by Oxford AstraZeneca.

According to the ministry, the recommendation has been made after a “revisit” on the 28-day gap done by “National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and subsequently by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) in its 20th meeting” which then recommended that the second of Covishield be given “at 4-8 weeks’ interval after the 1st dose, instead of earlier practiced interval of 4-6 weeks. This decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable ONLY to Covishield and NOT to Covaxin Vaccine, stated the letter written by the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to the Chief Secretaries of States/UTs on Monday, March 22. According to the ministry, “Keeping the existing scientific evidence in view, it appears that protection is enhanced if the second dose of COVISHIELD is administered between 6-8 weeks, but not later than stipulated period of 8 weeks.” The vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, and  over 4.50 crore vaccine doses have been given across the country since then.

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The post Covid-19: 46,951 new cases registered in the last 24 hours appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, in its order dated April 22, 2019, in M.C.Mehta versus Union of India, has directed the UP chief secretary, Dr. Anup Chandra Pandey, to take urgent steps to dispose of the solid waste that has accumulated in Prayagraj post-Kumbh Mela and fix accountability of officers in this regard. It further added that accountability must be fixed at the ground level and personal supervision by senior-level officers should be ensured. The tribunal said that on perusal of photographs, it was found that there was an urgent need for restoration work for the treatment of sewage water, remediation work for drains and solid waste processing.
 

The post ‘Despite Being Touted as the Cleanest, Post-Kumbh Mela Waste has caused an Alarming Situation’: Justice Tandon Report appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Allahabad: The upcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela 2019 being held in Uttar Pradesh may create joblessness for scores of people working in the leather and tannery sectors. The Yogi Adityanath government had passed an order to close tanneries and meat factories in Kanpur and Unnao for three months during the congregation from December 15 to March 15.
 
The state government had said that this decision was taken to provide clean water to participating devotees.
 
Close to 264 small and big tanneries operate Kanpur and Unnao. Taj Alam, the president of the UP Leather Industries Association (LIA), told PTI the state government’s move has come as a shock for the leather industry and meat processing units.
 
Alam said the complete closure of tanneries could spell trouble for over three lakh workers who hail from socially and economically backward community and are engaged in the industry.
 
The leather and leather goods export business and domestic sales from Kanpur and Unnao are around Rs. 20 billion a month each and the complete closure would hit business worth over Rs. 120 billion, Alam feared. “There will be large-scale job loss if the ban is not revoked.”
 
He said that this was the first time that tanneries have been asked to close during Kumbh. “Previously, during Kumbhs tanneries were told to shut the wet operations four to five days before every shahi snan. Shutting down for three months would result in losses. What about the people who are employed in the tanneries and what happens to export orders?” said Alam.
 
Unnao district has seven meat processing units with a combined annual turnover of Rs. 100 billion. The winter days are its peak season and the ban on tanneries will seriously hit the meat export business, the Business Standard reported.
 
Alam said the effluent released from tanneries into the Ganga may not be even half as polluting as the untreated water released from various towns along the river.
 
The tanners treat the water thrice before releasing it into the river, Alam said, adding the water from the plants is diverted to Rai Bareli and 80 per cent of the waste water does not reach the Ganga and this has been shown in the inquiry report made jointly by top administrative and irrigation department officials of Unnao district just a fortnight back.
 
This news first started doing the rounds in May and UP has become notorious for mob lynching incidents where cow vigilantes have attacked and killed cattle traders and farmers.
 
The Kumbh Mela is a congressional Hindu pilgrimage in which devotees gather to bathe in river Ganga. The Ardh Kumbh will be held in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) from January 15 to March 4, 2019.

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The ruling party is flexing its muscles in Uttar Pradesh by giving Rs. 760 crores to various Akhadas in the region. The Yogi Adityanath govt has spent an additional Rs. 4200 crores to prepare for the Ardh Kumbh Mela scheduled for January 2019.
 
The Yogi govt in UP has given Rs. 260 crores to the Akhadas in Allahabad and had already distributed Rs. 500 crores among the three biggest Akhadas in the state earlier. It is being seen as a clear sign of Hindutva brigade strengthening its saffron image. It was reported by Jansatta that the Akhadas said they’ll use this money to develop basic facilities.
 
“An estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore is being spent on next year’s Kumbh Mela, making it one of the costliest holy congregation. The BJP-led government has sought grants of Rs. 2,200 crores from the central government for the 50-day long mela. The last Kumbh Mela was held in 2013 during Akhilesh Yadav regime and cost around Rs. 1,300 crore,” reported News18.
 
The nexus between the politicians and religious seers is clear as BJP President Amit Shah is scheduled to meet Akhada priests on Friday, October 12. He will also take stock of the arrangements made for the pilgrimage. “While in Allahabad, Shah will also meet the saints of the Akhara Parishad, including its chief Narendra Giri. The Akhara Parishad is the apex body of saints from all the 14 akharas that participate in the Kumbh and whose feedback on Kumbh 2019 will be an important one,” the report said.
 
Ahead of the impending 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP is going all out in UP Kumbh Mela pilgrimage to secure the majority vote. The UP government has allegedly sent an invitation to 70 lakh villages across India to participate in the grand Kumbh Mela 2019. It is said that up to 12 crore devotees will gather at Allahabad for the Ardh Kumbh Mela which has been organised between January 14 and March 4, to take a dip in the holy Sangam waters.
 

In an unprecedented move, the UP government under Yogi Adityanath is organizing the six-yearly ardh-Kumbh (half Kumbh) on a massive scale. Not only has the resources of the cash-strapped state mobilized in making this otherwise quiet affair a mega event, but also had public outreach programs involving senior RSS functionaries have taken place in far-flung Mumbai as well. As is often the case with BJP’s senior functionaries, Yogi Adityanath also seems to have dug up dubious reasons to justify the scale of this event, even ‘rebranding’ the age-old holy mela. Noted adman Prasoon Joshi, head of the censor board of India, has been roped in to design the logo. While the entire exercise, being done as it is in an election year, smacks of opportunism, a distinct communal agenda is visible as well.
 
In an exclusive interview with Sabrang India, eminent lawyer Prashant Bhushan has brought up the possibility of false flag attacks at the venue where 4 million devotees are estimated to descend. He draws this conclusion in light of the recent busting of a Hindu right-wing terror module in Maharashtra.
 
“Maharashtra ATS raided some members of right-wing Hindu fundamentalist organisations.  They found a large stash of bombs, detonators, gelatin sticks, etc. On further interrogations, they found that they were planning to explode these bombs in Ganpati Mandals and Eid functions to cause mayhem and pin blame on Muslims to cause communal violence. Ardh Kumbh is not a big festival. The Yogi govt has made it a mega affair like a Maha Kumbh and are making it a bigger event then it actually is. They’re preparing, spending thousands of crores to make a mega city for people of 4 crore people on the banks of the Ganga river in Allahabad when the population of the city is only 20 lakhs. My fear is, in such a large gathering, it will be impossible to maintain security. On any major bathing day, crores of people go to take a dip and if a small bomb goes off somewhere, the resulting stampede will kill thousands. That is seriously fearsome,” he said. 

Watch the video here.

 

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The ABAP will induct dalits as Naga sadhus in the Ardh Kumbh, which is scheduled to be held in Allahabad in January-February 2019.
 

Lucknow: The Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), the apex body of saints and seers, has decided to ordain dalits as Naga sadhus.

The ABAP will induct dalits as Naga sadhus in the Ardh Kumbh, which is scheduled to be held in Allahabad in January-February 2019.

The timing of this coincides with the general elections and is apparently designed to consolidate the BJP’s dalit outreach.

ABAP president Mahant Narendra Giri, who is also the head of the Niranjani Akhara, confirmed that the ceremony for ordaining dalits into the Naga cult will take place in the 2019 Ardh Kumbh.
“It is going to be a historic moment and all the 13 major Akharas have agreed on this,” he said.

Till now, only those belonging to upper castes, including brahmins, kshatriya and vaishyas, were ordained as Naga sadhus after a tedious process. Lower castes and dalits, as a tradition, were not included into the cult.

“If dalits and members of other lower castes are willing to lead the difficult life of a Naga sadhus, we have no problem in bringing them into the cult. In fact, we feel that this will put an end to caste divides,” he said.

The opening of doors for dalits is a major development in the world of seers.

Mahant Pradeep Acharya, a well-known seer in Lucknow, said, “This is a landmark in the history of Hindu religion which has been carried forward by upper castes. It signals the changing times and also the acceptability of all castes in the religion. We have come a long way from the days when dalits were not even allowed to enter temples.”

Mahant Divyagiri, the first woman priestess of the Mankameshwar temple in Lucknow, also welcomed the move and said that it would give a sense of belonging to the dalit community.

However, the BJP denied that the decision to ordain dalits as Naga sadhus had any political overtones.

BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, “This decision is taken by the Akhara Parishad and there is no politics behind it. The timing of the ceremony may happen to coincide with the general elections but we have nothing to do with it. The BJP since the past several years, has been welcoming dalits into the party.”

The Kumbh Mela, incidentally, is known for ceremonies related to ordaini-ng of Naga sadhus. The ceremonies that include shaving of head and performing one’s own post-death ritual to signal alienation from worldly matters attract huge crowds.
The highlight of the mela, which is held every six years, is the ceremony that heralds the alienation of Naga sadhus from the civilisation.

After being ordained, the Naga sadhus live in clusters called Akharas and shun interaction with the society, except during the Kumbh Mela. They rem-ain naked and carry a trident with them. The Naga sadhus practice celibacy to escape from the cycle of birth and death and to attend salvation.

This article was first publised on asianage.com.

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