With a choice never made before, the Juna Akhara, the Hindu congregation that manages the ongoing Kumbh Mela pilgrimage to the sacred city of Haridwar has announced that it will withdraw from the religious event from today. The priests who manage the temples of the sacred city accepted the invitation of Prime Minister Modi who this morning proposed to carry out the last part of the rite in a symbolic way.
India, the Kumbh Mela festival kicks off: millions amassed despite Covid
by Carlo Pizzati
The Kumbh Mela, which was attracting millions of faithful to the banks of the Ganges should have continued until April 30, but already yesterday, after the death of Mahamandaleshwar Kapil Dev Das, leader of another important congregation, two Akhada, the groups of ” sadhu “, the ascetics who walk around naked covered only with ash, had announced their retirement from the rites.
The choice of the Juna Akhara was communicated with a tweet from the leader Avdheshanand Giri, who explained that the participation in the last bath, on April 27th, will be symbolic, and invited the faithful from all over the country to give up the trip to Haridwar.
The images of the hundreds of thousands of devotees who plunged all together on April 14th went around the world and raised serious questions about the spread of the infection: that day almost 950 thousand poured out and piled up in the streets and waters of the city. people. Since then, a few thousand positives have been identified in Haridwar