India Coronavirus Dispatch: Pandemic fails to deter Kumbh Mela pilgrims

Risks of postponing polio drive, vaccine consignments reach many cities, Delhi civic workers threaten to boycott vaccine drive duties-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Pandemic fails to deter Kumbh Mela pilgrims

The pandemic has not deterred scores of Hindu pilgrims from descending on River Ganga's banks for the annual Kumbh Mela, according to a report in Aljazeera. 

India has the second-most severe outbreak with over 150,000 fatalities. But this has not stopped pilgrims from celebrating the religious festival in Uttarakhand's Haridwar. Festival organiser Siddharth Chakrapani, who expected nearly a million people on Thursday alone, told Aljazeera that the pandemic was a worry, but that precautions were being taken. On Wednesday, the banks of the river were chock-a-block with people who were seemingly oblivious to