Mahakumbh: RT PCR report mandatory for incoming pilgrims for Makar Sankranti dip
Thermal screening has also been made compulsory for hotels, dharamshalas, ashrams, guest houses and lodges before they check in pilgrims and tourists.
By Sandeep Rawat
Clearing doubts over Makar Sankranti festive bath on January 14, Haridwar district administration has stated that an RT PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) negative test report will be mandatory for pilgrims arriving from other states.
Thermal screening has also been made compulsory for hotels, dharamshalas, ashrams, guest houses and lodges before they check in pilgrims and tourists.
District magistrate Haridwar C Ravi Shankar said that violation of the guidelines and standard operating procedures will lead to strict action under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 and Covid Regulations, 2020. The RT PCR should be conducted within five days before the Makar Sankranti festive bathe.
Meanwhile, elaborate arrangements are being put in place for Makar Sankranti bath which normally in previous Kumbh fairs used to be the first festive dip of the Kumbh. This time around, keeping the pandemic situation in mind, the Uttarakhand government has decided not to allow festive baths before Maha Shivratri (March 11).
The entire Mela zone has been bifurcated into seven zones and twenty sectors with 1,500-odd security personnel to be deployed for the year’s first major holy dip.
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“Jal Police, State Disaster Response Force, mounted cavalry squad, sniffer dog squad, intelligence personnel, bomb disposal squad along with one company each of Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force and two units of Provincial Armed Constabulary will be deployed for the Makar Sankranti festive bath,” said Sanjay Gunjiyal, Inspector General, Mela Force.
The mela zone will also be covered through Closed Circuit Television Cameras set up with 96 police controlled cameras and one thousand-odd private-institutional cameras footage.
Traffic plan and diversion routes have has also been envisaged for Makar Sankranti festive bath with heavy vehicles entry to remain prohibited from the morning of January 13 till January 14 midnight.
