New Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat announced on Saturday that pilgrims arriving for the Kumbh mela would no longer need a negative RT-PCR test report.
Speaking to The Times of India, Rawat said, "Kumbh happens only after 12 years. We don’t want people to miss out on the opportunity of experiencing the festival.”
Former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat had issued protocols making a negative RT-PCR report a must for pilgrims. The Kumbh is slated to go on till the end of April.
Recognised as a cultural heritage by UNESCO, the last edition of the Kumbh — in Allahabad in 2019 — attracted around 55 million people over 48 days.
This year Haridwar is the host, and lakhs of people are expected to throng the holy city in Uttarakhand.
It is expected that about 10 lakh people will attend the fair on a normal day and about 50 lakh people will attend the mela on auspicious days.
"All we want is the happiness of saints, devotees, traders and locals. We will ensure that Covid-19 norms are followed and the required health infrastructure is available for Kumbh," Tirath Singh Rawat said.
(Published 14 March 2021, 07:10 IST)
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