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Thousands Take Holy Dip in Ganges River Despite India Covid Surge
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January 14, 2022
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0:54Now PlayingTens of thousands of devout Hindus took a holy dip into the waters of the Ganges River in northern India on Friday despite rising COVID-19 infections in the country.
Hindu pilgrims congregated in Prayagraj city, 200 km (124 miles) northeast of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh to participate in the Magh Mela festival, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism.
They bathed in the Ganges waters, a ritual Hindus believe will wash away their sins and free them from the cycle of death and rebirth.
A similar gathering at a Hindu festival last year in the Himalayan town of Haridwar, in neighboring Uttarakhand state, was described as a "superspreader event" by epidemiologists.
Coronavirus infections, fuelled by the omicron variant, are rising fast throughout India.
The country reported a seven-day-average of more than 150,000 new infections on Friday but hospitalizations remain relatively low.
Millions of Hindus are expected to attend the festival for the next 47 days.
Already, 77 policemen and 12 cleaning staff deployed for the event have tested positive for the virus.
Fearing a rise in infections, authorities in neighboring Uttarakhand state have already banned a similar gathering.
Health experts earlier appealed for the festival to be cancelled in Uttar Pradesh state too, but the government went ahead saying safety rules would be followed.
Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party say the festival has been allowed despite rising infections because the government isn't willing to anger Hindus — they are the party's biggest supporters — ahead of crucial elections in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP-ruled state is also holding polls on Feb. 10.
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