For the first time in its history, the duration of the ‘Kumbh Mela’ in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar has been curtailed to just one month, owing to a recent surge in Covid-19 cases in India.

The Uttarakhand government has also made it mandatory for devotees to bring a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours for attending the upcoming mega congregation.Devotees who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine will have to upload their certificates in an official portal and follow the guidelines.

According to a notification, the congregation on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar will take place from April 1 to 30, There are three “shahi snan” or major bathing dates on April 12, 14 and 27.

Authorities also expect heavy turnouts on the occasions of Chaitra Pratipada on April 13 and Ram Navami on April 21.

Uttarakhand, which lay low for a few months, is once again witnessing a rising trend of late. 200 new coronavirus infections were reported on Wednesday, of which the maximum were detected in Haridwar (71 cases). Dehradun, reported 63 cases, while as many as 22 cases were reported from Nainital, according to a Covid-19 control room bulletin.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had recently written to the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary underlining the need for taking strict measures to check the spread of the pandemic, especially during the Mahakumbh.