High Court asks authorities to frame SOP for Kumbh in view of COVID-19 pandemic

The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the state government to frame the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The high court has directed the Uttarakhand Health Secretary, Mela Adhikari and Haridwar District Magistrate to hold a meeting on the subject, formulate the guidelines to be followed during Haridwar Kumbh and submit an action plan to the court on January 13.

The court has also asked these officials to be present in the court on January 13.

The Kumbh Mela will begin on January 14 and continue till April 27. Lakhs of people usually converge to take a holy dip in the Ganges river during the event.

The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari.

Several PILs had been filed in the court alleging that the state's quarantine and Covid care centres were in a bad shape.

The petitions also alleged that the migrants returning to the state were not getting adequate health facilities.

The District Legal Services Authority had also claimed that there was a lack of facilities in the quarantine centres.

Earlier, monitoring committees were constituted in every district under the chairmanship of the DM by the order of the high court.

The reports and suggestions of these committees have also been sought by the court on January 13.