Kumbh Mela 2021: Rishikesh`s Bharat Bhoomi tourist complex to be set up as COVID care centre

Rishikesh: In view of increasing COVID-19 cases in Uttrakhand, the Dehradun district administration has acquired Bharat Bhumi Tourist complex under Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam in Rishikesh to utilise it as a COVID care centre.

District Magistrate of Dehradun, Ashish Srivastava while speaking on the topic said, "Keeping in view of exercising COVID guidelines amid Kumbh Mela celebrations, Rishikesh's Bharat Bhoomi Tourist complex under Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Limited will be set up as COVID care centre." 

The district authorities are preparing for the same, he said. Uttarakhand reported 791 new COVID-19 positive cases including 303 cases in Dehradun and 185 cases in Haridwar on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to 1,03,602. 

Despite the spike in COVID-19 cases, Union Health Ministry has said there are no plans to cut short the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar prematurely and is hoping that standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being followed there. 

On being asked if Kumbh Mela can be a super-spreader of COVID-19, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan yesterday said, "as the super spreader events are concerned, the union government almost a month ago issued an SOP, specifically for practices to be adopted in Kumbh and had a long meeting with the state government's officers." 

"One fact that we usually lose sight of is that the duration of Kumbh has already been curtailed, Kumbh wherever it happens is usually for three and a half to four months, the present Kumbh has been curtailed to a month," he added.