Dehradun: Amid rising coronavirus cases in the country, thousands of saffron-clad seers and ash-smeared Nagas flouted COVID-19 norms and converged at Har Ki Pairi in Haridwar for a holy dip in the Ganga during the second royal bath of the Kumbh Mela on Monday.
The seers of different akhadas, led by their Mahamandaleshwaras, by turns took out grand Shobha Yatras through the main thoroughfare of the pilgrimage city to gather at Brahma Kund, Hari ki Pairi for the holy bath on the occasion of Somvati Amavasya.
Marching barefoot to their destination with many of them not wearing masks or observing social distancing, the seers took a dip in the river as they were showered with flower petals from helicopters flying above on behalf of the.