‘Saints’ oppose end of Kumbh Mela despite rise in covid cases

News Network

April 17, 2021

Haridwar, Apr 17: Differences has emerged over ending the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar owing to the spike in Covid-19 cases as a section of akharas (order of saints) objected to the “unilateral” declaration by the Niranjani Akhara to pull out of the religious congregation.

Niranjani Akhara, an influential order of saints, had on Thursday evening announced the end of its participation in the Kumbh Mela from April 17. Shri Panchayati Akhara and Anand Akhara also declared an end to their respective participation in the once-in-12 years congregation.

Seers belonging to the Nirvani Akhara, Nirmohi Akhara and Digambar Akharas raised strong objections to the announcement to end the Kumbh Mela on April 17 by the Niranjani Akhara.

Mahant Rajendra Das of the Nirmohi Akhara accused seers of other akharas of spreading Covid-19 and flouting pandemic guidelines.

“None of the Bairagi akharas (Nirvani, Nirmohi and Digambar) have reported Covid-19 cases,” Das told the media in Haridwar.

He said the Uttarakhand government had announced that the Kumbh Mela would continue till April 30 and demanded an apology from the Niranjani Akhara for declaring that the congregation would end on April 17.

“It is dishonest to declare that the Kumbh has ended early. The Kumbh Parv is decided by the alignment of stars and planets. It will end on the full moon day (April 27),” Swami Avimuketeshwaranand said in Haridwar.

He said Covid-19 has spread across the country and there was no safer place to go to protect oneself from the infectious disease.

“It would be better if we stay at the Kumbh premises and follow physical distancing protocols and wear masks all the time,” Avimukteshwaranand, the disciple of Dwarkapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati, said.

He said the religious discourses by the Shankaracharya have been suspended to avoid large gatherings at the mela premises.

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KUMBH CORONA........ THOSE WHO DONT OBEY THE RULES ARREST THEM.. KUMBH MELA NOW BECOME CORONA MELA... THEY ARE SPREADING CORONA FROM MELA AND ALSO ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.. THIS IS DANGEROUS DANGEROUS AND DANGEROUS............

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Israel shifts forces deeper into Gaza, strikes hit families trapped inside

News Network

November 21,2025

Local authorities say the Israeli military has expanded the so-called “yellow line” truce demarcation in Gaza City and repositioned its forces deeper into the territory in violation of a ceasefire agreement that came into force on October 10, besieging dozens of Palestinian families.

Gaza’s Government Media Office announced in a statement on Thursday that Israeli forces widened the boundary by shifting the markers, and advanced roughly 300 meters (984 feet) into the neighborhoods of Ash-Shaaf, An-Nazzaz and Baghdad Street.

The move pushed further into civilian areas, trapping families who were unable to flee as tanks rolled forward, it added.

“The fate of many of these families remains unknown amidst the shelling that targeted the area,” the office said, adding that the expansion of the yellow line shows a “blatant disregard” for the ceasefire deal.

On Friday, sources said the Israeli military carried out continued air and artillery strikes inside the so-called “yellow line” east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to the reports, Israeli warplanes and tanks targeted areas within the zone. One Palestinian was reported killed and several others wounded in the strikes, the sources said.

The fresh aggression came only a day after 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis on Wednesday.

The media office reported that Israel has consistently violated the truce deal since its implementation last month, with near-daily attacks by air, artillery and direct shootings.

The office said over 400 violations have been documented. These breaches have resulted in the deaths of more than 300 Palestinians and left hundreds injured.

The Government Media Office in Gaza urged the guarantors of the ceasefire — the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — to take swift action to halt the ongoing violations and facilitate the delivery of food, shelter materials, medical aid, and infrastructure equipment.

The so-called “yellow line,” set out in the agreement between Israel and Hamas resistance movement, refers to a non-physical partition where the Israeli military repositioned itself when the truce deal took effect.

It has allowed Israel, which routinely fires at Palestinians who approach the line, to retain control over more than half of the Gaza Strip.

International bodies, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and other rights groups, have concluded that the Israeli war on Gaza amounts to genocide.

In the attacks in Gaza since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 69,546 people and injured 170,833 others, leveling large swaths of the territory and displacing almost all of the population.

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