They believe that Maa (mother) Ganga will save them from this pandemic

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As India COVID cases soar...

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The Kumbh Mela religious festival in the northern city of Haridwar, has already attracted nearly 5 million largely non-mask wearing Hindu pilgrims to the banks of the holy Ganges River this week.
Festival organizer Siddharth Chakrapani told AFP news agency "our faith is the biggest thing for us. It is because of that strong belief that so many people have come here to take a dip in Ganga. They believe that Maa (mother) Ganga will save them from this pandemic."

India: Hindu festival turns to superspreader event as COVID infections soar | DW | 15.04.2021

 

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Ganges is a pretty filthy river, people get sick using the water, they bathe, drink it, burn dead bodies next to it, corpses float by, it has human and animal waste.
The Ganges: Hinduism's Holy River (learnreligions.com)

Though the sacred waters are linked to spiritual purity, the Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Nearly 80 percent of the sewage dumped into the river is untreated, and the amount of human fecal matter is more than 300 times the limit set by India’s Central Pollution Control Board. This is in addition to the toxic waste caused by dumping of insecticides, pesticides, and metals, and industrial pollutants.

These dangerous levels of pollution do little to deter religious practice from the sacred river. Hindus believe drinking water from the Ganges brings fortune, while immersing oneself or one’s belongings brings purity. Those that practice these rituals may become spiritually clean, but the pollution of the water afflicts thousand with diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and even typhoid each year.

In 2014, the government of India pledged to spend nearly $3 billion on a three-year clean-up project, though as of 2019, the project had not yet begun.

 

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India battles record COVID surge as rallies, Hindu festival draw huge crowds
India battles record COVID surge as rallies, Hindu festival draw huge crowds | Reuters