Markaz, Kumbh Cannot Be Compared: Uttarakhand CM

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Tuesday said that there is no comparison between Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi and Kumbh in Haridwar as the former was held in a closed space while the latter is being held in a vast open area.

Briefing the media persons, Rawat said, "There is no comparison between Markaz and Kumbh. Markaz was in a closed hall. All the people slept in a single hall with close contacts. They shared blankets. On the contrary, there are 16 ghats in Kumbh. Not just Haridwar, Kumbh is spread from Rishikesh to Nilkanth. Devotees take bath in different ghats at different times."

"The Akhadas also reach the ghats at different time slots. The peshwai of the Akhadas visit in a time-bound manner. Markaz was in a closed building but Kumbh is in a vast open area. Most importantly, Kumbh is at the bank of the River Ganga. Maa Ganga's blessings are there in the flow. So, there should be no corona," added the chief minister.

Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi is the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, a society of Sunni Islamic missionary movement. It caught national attention in March last year after the havoc COVID infections caused among the people gathered in the building.

Kumbh is held periodically at four different locations in India — Nashik, Haridwar, Prayagraj, and Ujjain.

This year, Kumbh is being held in Uttarakhand's Haridwar. In normal circumstances, Kumbh continues for nearly four months but this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has been curtailed to one month and will culminate on April 30.

The Uttarakhand government has released a set of guidelines, which require people to strictly adhere to COVID-19 norms, including a negative RT-PCR test report.

According to the Uttarakhand health department, there are 9,353 active COVID-19 cases in the state.

"Uttarakhand reports 1,925 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total case of the infection to 1,12,071," the health department informed on Tuesday. (ANI)