Uttarakhand CM TS Rawat said Kumbh is different from Markaz as Nizamuddin Markaz was held in an enclosed area along with foreign attendees.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said on Tuesday the ongoing Kumbh Mela that is being held in Haridwar should not be compared with the Nizamuddin Markaz case as it was held in an enclosed area where people from even foreign countries attended it.
The Chief Minister replied to a question which was asked during a weekly talk show organised by The Hindustan Times. The question was why two religious events should not be equated when Kumbh Mela also attracts huge crowds and could be the reason for making the second wave of the pandemic worse.
"There should be no comparison between Kumbh and Markaz. The Markaz was held in a closed space, in a Kothi like structure whereas the Kumbh is being held in the open on the sprawling ghats of the Ganga," he said. Mr Rawat cited differences between the two and said the devotees attending Kumbh are not from outside "but our own people."
Mr Rawat said people were not aware of Covid or its guidelines when the Markaz was held but now they are aware of the disease and the guidelines related to it. He added Kumbh comes once in 12 years and is linked with the faith and sentiments of millions of people which cannot be totally ignored.
Mr Rawat said largescale arrangements of random testing of people, masks, sanitisers have been made in the Mela area and people are being checked at the border points before being allowed to enter Haridwar. Meanwhile, Haridwar will organise another 'Shahi Snan' on the occasion of "Mesh Sankranti" on Wednesday during the ongoing Kumbh.
Uttarakhand on Tuesday reported the highest single-day spike this year in Covid cases with 1,925 testing positive. Dehradun district reported 775 cases, Haridwar reported 594, Nainital reported 217 and Udham Singh Nagar reported 172 while 13 infected patients died.
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