The guidelines for the upcoming Kumbh Mela at Haridwar in Uttrakhand surrounded by the COVID- 19 pandemic. The central government has issued the protocol for Kumbh Mela. As per the reports, all devotees have to get registered with the Uttrakhand government. They need to carry their medical certificate from the district hospital or medical college in their states. The National Security Guard Commandos will also be located at the Mela. Kumbh Mela is celebrated like a festival in Hinduism.
It used to be celebrated in a cycle of 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage locations like Haridwar (Ganges), Prayagraj ( Ganges-Yamuna and Sarswati river), Nasik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra). According to the rituals, devotees dip in the river and prays to God that it cleaned their sins. Now, this has become the tradition since 8th- century. This has been started by Hindu philosopher and saint Adi Shankara. He reason behind it that they gather Hindus for the discussion of Hindu monasteries in India.
This festival celebrates once every 12 years based on the Hindu solar calendar. They consider the astrological positions of Sun, Moon and Jupiter. First Kumbh Mela celebration occurs in Prayagraj then after 6 years, it celebrates in Haridwar. After the exact 3 years, the Mela celebrates in Ujjain and Nasik at the same time. These same rituals have been performed in Tamilnadu. This is called the Magha Mela where people dip into Kaveri River every year at Kumbakonam. In this festival, a million of South Indian Hindus takes part and called it Tamil Kumbh Mela.
There is sufficient evidence of this historic mass pilgrimages which is called Kumbh Mela. The Uttrakhand government Commissioner Garhwal and Kumbh Mela officials assigned up to worth Rs. 5 crores to speed up the preparations of the meal. In this Mela have three dates all around which lasts around between one to three months. This Kumbh Mela attracts millions of pilgrims. According to the report of Encyclopedia Britannica, In 2001, 60 million Hindu gathered for the Kumbh Mela.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had a cabinet meeting on 22 January to take these decisions. Chief Minister has also asked the central government to provide vaccine while the Kumbh Mela starts. Dr Abhishek Tripathi is the Control Room Chief for the COVID-19, and he has also sent a proposal to the centre. The Police Commissioner of Uttrakhand stated that they have placed two NSG teams against the anti-national elements in the Kumbh Mela. This team will train its Anti- Terrorist Squad.
