Ensure that Maha Kumbh Mela 2021 does not turn into breeding ground for COVID-19: Uttarakhand High Court issues directions

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday said that it would be mandatory for every devotee attending the Maha Kumbh Mela to get an RT-PCR COVID-19 test report..The Court said that the State government is "expected to be vigilant and to ensure that the Mahakumbh mela does not turn into the breeding ground for the spread of 11 COVID-19 pandemic.".A Division Bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma also directed the State to ensure that no person is allowed to enter the Kumbh Mela area or the State, "until and unless, the person carries a medical certificate clearly indicating that he/she is not a COVID-19 positive patient."The Court accordingly ordered that the SOPs issued by the government be implemented. "Therefore, this Court directs the State Government to ensure that the SOPs issued by the Central Government and the State Government are implemented in the strictest sense, both in letter and spirit.".The Court took note of two different reports submitted by the District Legal Services Authority and counsel for the petitioner, Advocate Shiv Bhatt. After considering the material of the reports, the Court issued the following directions:1. Devotees to carry COVID-19 report: State is to ensure that no pilgrim/visitor is allowed to enter the Kumbh Mela area or to enter the State without a COVID-19 negative test report.2. Inspection of hospitals: Secretary of Medical Health and Family Welfare Amit Negi was directed to inspect the hospitals which are going to be used for the benefit of pilgrims/visitors during the Kumbh Mela. He is directed to ensure that the deficiencies pointed out in the report are fulfilled and the recommendations made by doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Rishikesh are implemented as far as possible.3. Arrangements near the ghats: The Court directed that the ghats should be repaired as expeditiously as possible. Sufficient number of kiosks should be created for accommodating doctors and nurses. It was also suggested that facilities for vaccinating the pilgrims/visitors should be set up, so that senior citizens can be vaccinated while they are visiting Kumbh Mela.4. Check points at the entry gate: The authorities were asked to depute people at the entry point of each ghat. These people will use thermal guns for checking the temperature of pilgrims/visitors who are entering the ghat and to ensure that sufficient sanitizers are provided for those who are coming to and going from the ghat. Such persons shall also ensure that every pilgrim/visitor is wearing a mask.5. Mahila ghats to be supervised by women officers: The Court directed the Inspector General to ensure that the Mahila ghats are supervised and controlled by women police personnel, both in plain clothes and in uniform. It was also directed that men police personnel shall be deployed in order to create a buffer zone between the area where the women would take bath and where men would be permitted to stand."Strict action shall be taken against any person who tries to photograph or to videotape women while their bathing in the river Ganges," the Court warned.6. Night shelters to be increased: The Court took note of the fact that more than ten lakh people will be attending the Maha Kumbh Mela in Haridwar and about fifty lakh people are expected on special days during the festival. Accordingly, the State government has been directed to increase the number of night shelters being constructed in both the Haridwar and in Rishikesh Kumbh Mela areas..Pursuant to the Court's earlier directions, two reports were submitted by the parties. The first report was tabled by Advocate Shiv Bhatt (counsel for the petitioner) and the second was submitted by Shivani Pasbola, Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, Haridwar. The report submitted by Bhatt highlighted some of the shortcomings in the arrangements and facilities being provided in the Kumbh Mela area. Some of the shortcomings provided in the report are produced below:1. There is no kiosk for carrying out the Rapid Antigen Test. Moreover, at the hospital, young men and women who are not trained in medical science are being hired as staff members.2. Even at the Mahila ghat, the condition of washrooms and toilets is highly deplorable.3. The connecting roads to the main road are in deplorable condition. 4. In the three districts of Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal and Pauri Garhwal, there is lack of mobile urinals and washrooms..The Chief Secretary of the State submitted an undertaking before the Court stating that the protocol and the SOPs issued by the Central and State governments would be followed. "He further informs this Court that the State Government will insist that pilgrims coming from every corner of the country, would be required to bring a medical certificate clearly indicating therein that they are not COVID19 positive. The said medical certificate shall be valid only for seventy-two hours. Therefore, the certificates carried by the pilgrims/visitors would have to be issued within seventy-two hours prior to their arrival in the State," the Court recorded in its order..Inspector General for the Kumbh Mela, Sanjay Gunjyal also assured the Court that around 10,000 personnel will be deployed for controlling and supervising the crowd..Apart from issuing directions based on the reports submitted before it, the Court also cautioned the authorities to ensure that the Mela does not turn into a breeding ground for the Coronavirus. The Court directed the authorities to be vigilant and alert. Expressing its concern over the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, the Court warned,"Already alarm bells are being rung in some parts of the country, especially from the Southern, that COVID-19 pandemic is again raising its head. Therefore, pandemic continues to be a cause of concern for all of us. Some of the Southern and Northern States, like Rajasthan, have started imposing partial lockdown. This is a clear indication that we are again entering the phase where the country will face the COVID-19 pandemic.".The matter will be next heard on March 31..[Read order]