Central government appoints high-level team to review medical arrangements for Kumbh Mela

The Central Government deployed a high-level team to Haridwar on March 15, 2021, for reviewing the medical care and public health arrangements for Kumbh Mela. It is scheduled to held from April 1 to April 30, 2021.

The High-level team will be led by Dr. SK Singh, Director of National Centre for Disease Control- NCDC along with Dr. SK Singh, Additional Director, and Dr. Meera Dhuria, Deputy Director. Both will be from the NCDC as other team members.

A high-level central team has been deployed to review medical care & public health arrangements for #KumbhMela2021 at Haridwar. Among others, the team will focus on the status of implementation of the #SOP for the Kumbh Mela issued by @MoHFW_INDIA @PMOIndia @TIRATHSRAWAT pic.twitter.com/0b3g3yYndF

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) March 15, 2021

What will be the role of the team?

• The high-level team, among others, will focus on the status of the implementation of the SoP (Standard Operating Procedure) for Kumbh Mela. It has been issued by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry in the context of implementing preventive measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus during Kumbh.

• The team by the central government will also be reviewing the implementation of its field-level recommendations that have been given to the state during its last visit in February 2021.

Reduction in Kumbh Mela’s duration:

Earlier in February 2021, the Uttarakhand government had decided to limit the mela to just 30 days from earlier 3 months. The decision was taken to prevent the spread of Coronavirus infection by reducing the duration of the pilgrimage.

Registration mandatory for Kumbh Mela pilgrims:

The government, to control the spread of the infection, has made passes mandatory for the pilgrims who plan on attending Kumbh Mela. As per the rules, the passes to the pilgrims will be issued only after they have submitted the negative RT-PCR test. All the devotees will also have to register themselves first on the web portal of Kumbh Mela 2021.

Background:

Kumbh Mela is one of the largest mass gatherings. The pilgrimage is celebrated 4 times over a course of 12 years. The mela spans around 4 different locations in India- Haridwar, Prayag, Nashik, and Ujjain.