Kolkata, Jan 7 (AFP\/APP):An Indian court on Friday rejected a bid to cancel a major Hindu festival despite fears the vast gathering could spread coronavirus infections as the country sees an Omicron-driven surge in cases.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the annual Gangasagar Mela festival, which begins Saturday on an island where the holy river Ganges enters the Bay of Bengal.<\/p>\n
It marks the harvest season and will reach a climax next weekend ahead of the new moon on January 17.<\/p>\n
Kolkata-based doctor Avinandan Mondal sought a court order to ban the festival over coronavirus concerns, with infection rates surging in a country that saw a deadly wave last year.<\/p>\n
New cases passed 100,000 on Friday and authorities in several megacities have brought in restrictions as they seek to slow the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n
But the Calcutta High Court rejected the request, instead asking the regional government — which estimated attendance at no more than 500,000 and supported the gathering — to issue advertisements warning people about the risks of attending.<\/p>\n
“People from all states in the country will attend the religious festival and take a holy dip,” environmentalist Subhash Dutta told AFP.<\/p>\n
“They may carry variant viruses and this religious festival may end up being the biggest superspreader in the coming days,” he added.<\/p>\n
The Sagar island site is one of the most sacred places in Hinduism and it receives millions of pilgrims each year.<\/p>\n
People board trains, buses, trek and finally take boats to reach the sacred island spot to offer prayers, bathe and to visit many old temples in the region.<\/p>\n
Last year’s deadly wave of infections in India was preceded by the huge 12-yearly Kumbh Mela festival, when millions of Hindus from all over the country descended on the banks of the Ganges in the northern city of Haridwar.<\/p>\n
The pilgrimage saw people walking the revered river in the morning without masks and scant regard for social distancing.<\/p>\n
The mass gathering was blamed for a significant surge in infections for weeks as people returned to distant towns and villages all over the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kolkata, Jan 7 (AFP\/APP):An Indian court on Friday rejected a bid to cancel a major Hindu festival despite fears the vast gathering could spread coronavirus infections as the country sees an Omicron-driven surge in cases. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[15584],"class_list":["post-32861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-world-news","tag-indian-court-allows-huge-hindu-festival-despite-covid-concerns"],"yoast_head":"\n