Char Dham preparations: Cannot think of another ‘Kumbh’ like gathering amidst covid upsurge

Haridwar: The Uttarakhand High Court questioned the state government over its preparations for the Char Dham Yatra, which is scheduled to start from May 14.

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Raising concerns over the sudden covid surge in the state following the Mahakumbh Mela that concluded a day ago, the bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma, while hearing a bunch of PILs concerning the state’s handling of the pandemic, made an oral observation that the pilgrimage “cannot be allowed to turn into Kumbh”. The government in its response said it will soon release Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the yatra.

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The HC has directed the secretary (health and finance) Amit negi to file a detailed report on all these issues by May 12 and be personally present at the next date of hearing before court.