With Mahakumbh scheduled early next year, the Uttarakhand government and Kumbh Mela administration have decided to assess the carrying capacity of Haridwar and Ganga ghats for Mahakumbh with social distancing norms in place.
Mahakumbh in Haridwar will commence from January and conclude in April. Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, the state government had assessed that 12-13 crore people would participate in Mahakumbh 2021.
Akshar Parishad Mahant Hari Giri Maharaj, general secretary, said, “Maximum people should be allowed to take a dip. But keeping Covid-19 in mind, safety is of paramount importance but the steps being taken by the state government and mela administration are in the right direction,”
According to Indian Express, Hundreds of labourers have been working on permanent infrastructure, laying of sandstone at the ghats of Har Ki Pauri and shifting overhead power cables underground to give the area a facelift. A total of 51 construction projects which will be permanent in nature are underway in the mela area. A few projects had started in August 2019, but most began in January 2020.
The report further states that projects worth Rs 320 crore are going on, with December 15 as the deadline to complete them. Rawat claims 70 per cent of the work has been completed. This includes seven bridges, various new roads, astha path, upgradation of police barracks, fire stations and bus station and facelifts of various ghats.
