The huge religious festival in Kumbh Mela continues despite the coronavirus pandemic

An organizer said he expected a million pilgrims on Thursday.

LONDON – Hindu pilgrims in India began to gather along the Ganges on the first day of Kumbh Mela, despite the restrictions of the coronavirus in what is often described as the largest religious festival in the world.

Images from the northern city of Haridwar, hosting this year’s event, taken on Thursday, showed thousands gathering to take a dip in the Ganges on the first day of the festival.

Kumbh Mela takes place over several weeks and pilgrims believe that submerging themselves in the river will help them absolve them of their sins.

Typically, tens of millions of Indians gather during the festival, which is famous for its colorful scenes and the presence of Sadhus, or holy men.

However, India is still very much in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, and the numbers expected to travel across the country have raised fears of further spread across the community.

In the early months of the pandemic, part of the spread of the virus across the country was attributed to day laborers who traveled long distances home to adhere to COVID-induced blockages.

“The pandemic is a little worrying, but we are taking all precautions,” said an organizer, who suggested that up to a million people could participate in the festival on Thursday, according to the agency Agence-France-Presse. “I’m sure Maa Ganga will take care of their safety.”

This year’s festival runs until April. The festival itself is celebrated on four different riverbanks considered sacred, with this year’s host, Prayagraj, based on the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh state.

India has so far had more than 10.5 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 151,727 deaths recorded, according to Johns Hopkins University.