Hindu pilgrimage heightens pandemic concerns
TENS of thousands of Hindu devotees have gathered on the banks of the Ganges for special prayers, many of them flouting social distancing practices as coronavirus spreads in India with record speed.
The Kumbh Mela is one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism. The faithful congregate in the city of Haridwar and take a dip in the waters of the Ganges, which they believe will absolve them of their sins and deliver them from the cycle of birth and death.
The Kumbh Mela, which runs through April, comes during India’s worst surge in new infections since the pandemic began. Hospitals in the country are becoming overwhelmed with patients, and experts worry the worst is yet to come.
India reported another record daily surge in infections to overtake Brazil as the second-worst hit country in the world. The 168,912 cases added in 24 hours up to yesterday pushed India’s total to 13.5 million, while Brazil has 13.4 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party say the festival has been allowed at a time when infections are rising sharply because the government is not willing to anger Hindus, who are the party’s biggest supporters.
Amid concerns the Kumbh Mela festival could turn into a superspreader event, Uttarakhand state’s chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat last week said “the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus”.