More RT-PCR test reports are awaited and the trend shows that the number of infected persons in the Kumbh Mela Kshetra is likely to climb to 2,000.
Nirvani Ani Akhada president Mahant Dharmdas said that only the mela officer or the chief minister has the right to announce the "end of the Kumbh Mela".
The Juna Akhara, one of the largest sects of seers in the country, announced the end of its participation in the Kumbh Mela on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal that participation in the ongoing gathering in Haridwar be kept symbolic in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
Smriti Irani also tweeted a picture of her holy dip, with the caption "Har Har Gange".
Five crore devotees took part in the Kumbh mela on the banks of pious Shipra river this year.
The last auspicious day of the ongoing Kumbh Mela was full of action
Reuters's Indian Photojournalists Adnan Abidi, Amit Dave, Danish Siddiqui and Sanna Irshad Mattoo were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography at Columbia University in Manhattan, October 20, 2022.
Factional feud among the orders of ascetics has come to the fore at the ongoing Maha Kumbh congregation in Allahabad with one of the "akharas" threatening to boycott the upcoming "Shahi Snan" festivals if a religious head revered by it was not allowed to take part in the ritual bathing.
Security has been tightened in Haridwar for the first day of the Shahi Snan (Royal Bath) on Friday, as thousands of devotees are expected to take a dip in the River Ganga to mark the festival of Maha Shivratri. Around 10,000 security personnel have been deployed in Haridwar to thwart any kind of untoward incident when devotees, including ash-covered Naga sadhus participate in the festivities
What is particularly worrying is that the vast majority will not have access to testing or even to proper treatment. These cases could have been avoided if the government had shown the political will to do so, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Mela Inspector General Sanjay Gunjyal also said the religious event formally began on April 1 by which time the second wave of Covid was already raging in states like Maharashtra and Haryana.
Avdheshanand urged people to not come to the Kumbh mela for bathing in large numbers due to the COVID-19 situation and to follow the rules.
Braving scorching heat, a multitude of sadhus along with their disciples chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' took 'shahi snan' (royal bath) at Ramghat in Shipra river in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on Friday.
Tripathi, with tattoos on her hands, is one of the most influential figures in the LGBT community in India.
Devotees who have taken the anti-Covid vaccination will have to show their certificates and follow the anti-Covid guidelines like wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and frequently undertaking hand sanitization in the Kumbh Kshetra.
A large number of devotees are taking a holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers in Allahabad on the auspicious occasion of ''Mauni Amavasya'' on Sunday.
The fire mishap took place on a day when lakhs of devotees have gathered for the 'Shahi Snan' on the occasion of Basant Panchami.
In a major mishap, at least 24 people are feared killed after a railing of the foot-over bridge collapsed due to excessive crowds at platform no 6 in Allahabad railway station.
Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Amit Dave and the late Danish Siddiqui, who was killed last July while on assignment covering the war in Afghanistan, won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in India.
Four people were reportedly killed after a stampede broke out during a procession at the Kumbh Mela's Juna Akhada in Haridwar on Wednesday morning.It has been reported that the stampede took place following a brawl between the priests and the devotees over the removal of a vehicle.There are reports that two women were among the devotees killed in the ensuing stampede and several others were injured. The stampede took place on the last day of the Shahi Snan.
By any standards, the crowd was far bigger than what the festival has witnessed ever since it began on January 3.
Thousands of sadhus have already reached the holy town of Trimbakeshwar, which enshrines one of the 12 jyotirlingas.
Simhastha Kumbh Mela, the largest congregation of faith in the world, began on Tuesday with the traditional ceremony of hoisting of flags and thousands of people taking a holy dip in Kushawart and Ramkund in Godavari river in the two towns.
The mahants and sadhus of Shaiva sects will take the snan in Kushavarta Teerth, housing one of the 12 jyotirlingas.
Traditionally the biggest of all the sacred bathing days in the 50-day long Mela, Mauni Amavasya this time holds greater significance as it falls on a Monday and that too during the Kumbh - a rather rare combination on many accounts.
'Releasing dam water for a holy bath is the most unholiest thing. No religion propagates polluting or squandering resources.' Professor Hiralal Desarda explains why he went to court against release of water for the Shahi Snan at the Kumbh Mela in Nashik.
A tribute to an incomparable photojournalist who was slain by the Taliban on Thursday night.
The court asked the civic body to file an affidavit on this.
The ancient Ganga-Godavari-temple on the bank of river Godavari was later closed till next Kumbh mela to be held in 2027-28.
Nepal on Friday recalled its ambassador to India over charges of non-cooperation and indulging in anti-government activities.
Rediff.com takes a look at the devout flock that attends the Simhastha Kumbh Mela to take a dip into the holy waters and purify themselves.
The VHP will focus on non-religious topics and give the Ram temple a miss at the three-day Vaicharik Kumbh, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shashikant Trivedi reports.
Images that capture what it was like living through 2021.
'In India, there's currently evidence the Centre has not managed a smooth vaccine rollout.' 'It is now falling back on blaming states, which are facing vaccine shortages,' points out Devangshu Datta.
Why did we go into nationwide lockdown when we were adding 100 cases a day and why are we not going into lockdown but allowing cricket stadiums, political rallies and Kumbh Melas when we are adding 40,000 cases a day? asks Aakar Patel.
"Seven people have been killed and 90 injured in and around the Mela area," district collector Kavindra Kiyawat told PTI. The second Shahi-Snan is due on May 9.
'Your family, your kith and kin are also under stress, some of your relatives will die, without getting appropriate treatment.'
Recently, Hindu religious seers had threatened to boycott the ceremonial Kumbh snan if the Ganga was not clean.
The lack of proper coordination and disaster management plan on the part of railways resulted in the stampede at Allahabad station during last year's Maha Kumbh Mela in which 37 persons were killed, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said.
'What was the message that was going to them?' 'The message was, we are a great country and we have beaten Covid!' 'No one talked about the precautions to be taken.'
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