Published 22:21 IST, December 26th 2020
Akhada Parishad miffed over preparations for Kumbh Mela, say 'no work has been started'
Mahant Narendra Giri stated that they had also sent a memorandum to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in this regard.
Casting aspersions over the preparations for the Maha Kumbh Mela 2021, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad on Friday announced that it was ready to organize the mammoth festival on its own if the Uttarakhand Government and administration did not cooperate.
While addressing a meeting at Naya Udasin Akhada Kankhal, President of Akhada Parishad, Mahant Narendra Giri, stated that they had also sent a memorandum to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in this regard. The response of the body comes in regard to the slow-moving preparations of the Kumbh Mela 2021 which have been sluggish largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It is the duty of the government to make the arrangements. But no work has been started yet. We are not happy with the attitude of the administration. But Maha Kumbh Mela 2021 will be as grand and divine as it was in 2010, no matter the Uttarakhand government cooperates or not," he said.
On the other hand, Mahant Narendra Giri, however, lauded Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the government's arrangements for the Magh Mela 2021. "I will go to Prayagraj to oversee the arrangements being made by the Uttar Pradesh government for the upcoming Magh Mela 2021. I have invited the chief minister and officials of Uttarakhand to visit Prayagraj to know how arrangements are being made," he said. Giri is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and request him to conduct the Kumbh Mela in a "grand manner."
Kumbh Mela 2021
Getting the preparations rolling, the Uttarakhand administration on Saturday announced that forty companies of central paramilitary forces will be deployed for the Kumbh Mela including personnel of the SSB, the CISF, the ITBP, BSF and the CRPF. Additionally keeping the pandemic in mind, a special COVID officer would also be deployed for the mela. This year, all shopkeepers in the mela area have been asked to frequently use masks and hand sanitizers. Haridwar Kumbh will be held from January to April. The event is expected to draw in 35 to 50 lakh devotees and tourists.
(With Agency Inputs; PTI Image)
Updated 22:21 IST, December 26th 2020