Petition filed in Supreme Court to stop mass gatherings at Haridwar

Dated: April 17, 2021

                                                                                                                                                            - by Megha Bhatia

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition has been lodged in the Supreme Court, requesting that mass gatherings in Haridwar for the ongoing Kumbh Mela be halted. 

The petition also raises concerns about the dangers of mass political rallies in poll-bound states like West Bengal, and asks the Election Commission of India to take action.

According to a petition filed by a Noida native, Sanjay Kumar Pathak, thousands of people are attending the Kumbh Mela without wearing face masks or maintaining social distance, posing a serious public health concern during the second wave of the pandemic.

“...there is no protocol in place to ensure devotees who get infected at Haridwar do not go on to spread the virus when they return to their home districts”, the plea says. 

Between April 13 and 14, more than 1000 COVID-19 cases were registered in Haridwar, according to reports. The head of Nirwani Akhada, who had attended the mela, died of COVID-19 on April 15.

“Photos and videos from the event show that COVID-19 protocols like physical distancing and wearing masks are not being followed at the event. Blatant violations by the Kumbh mela attendees were ignored despite the claim of respondent no.2 to take strict action against the violation of Covid guidelines. On the other hand, India reported 1,68,912 new cases of Corona positive,” the petition states. 

Despite the fact that the disease is spreading at breakneck pace through the country, the petitioner claims that the Indian Railways is arranging special trains to promote the mass gathering for the Haridwar Kumbh.

The petitioner claims that the Union of India, the State of Uttarakhand, and the National Disaster Management Authority have taken no action to prevent the gathering in Haridwar, despite the fact that a new COVID-19 surge began in the second week of March.

According to the petitioner, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat strongly encouraged involvement in the event, despite the possibility of a pandemic.

Nobody will be stopped in the name of COVID-19 as we are sure the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus,” the petition states as said by the Chief Minister. 

The petitioner claims that front-page ads with the image of the Chairman of the NDMA (the Prime Minister) were placed in leading newspapers welcoming people to the Kumbh Mela as a “token of acceptance.”

According to the petitioner, the Union Health Minister blamed the public for the COVID-19 outbreak, alleging that people “became very careless.”

“The respondents are acting arbitrarily and illogically despite the surge of COVID-19 cases in India,” the plea says. 

“On the one hand, poor common man on the street is often punished and treat violently by the Police and executive authorities for individual violations of Covid-19 rules and regulations in the name of strict enforcement, on the other hand, the authorities are not only permitting but facilitating and promoting congregation of people in the events like Kumbh-2021 and Election rallies. It is visibly clear that two separate and mutually inconsistent standards are being adopted by the authorities in dealing with the citizens of India. Police ki Lathi for the common man for Covid violations and celebration amidst the open mass violation of COVID-19 Protocol in full view, presence of and under the protection of authorities responsible for implementation of COVID-19 protocols” - from the petition. 

Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, the petition requests the following reliefs: 

  1. Direct the Centre and Uttarakhand governments to remove all ads welcoming people to Haridwar for the Kumbh Mela immediately.
  2. Direct the Centre, Uttarakhand, and the NDMA to clear the mass gathering from Haridwar city as soon as possible, and to create a safety plan for people returning home from the Mela.
  3. Inform respondents that any incident that violates the intent of COVID-19 safety protocols will not be encouraged or promoted.
  4. Instruct the Indian Election Commission to strictly follow the COVID-19 guidelines in areas where elections are taking place.

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