Haridwar Kumbh Mela
Videos
Haridwar Kumbh Mela is a mela, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Haridwar, India held every 12 years. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. The event possesses deep religious significance to Hindus as well as other spiritual seekers. Historically, it was an important commercial event and was attended by merchants from as far as Arabia.
Pilgrims gather for the third Shahi Snan ("royal bath") at Har ki Pauri in Haridwar on 14 April 2010
Haridwar Kumbh Mela by the English painter J. M. W. Turner. Steel engraving, 1850s.
Naga Sadhus at the 1998 Kumbh Mela
Bathing ghat on the Ganges during the 2010 Kumbh Mela
COVID-19 pandemic in India
Videos
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. As of 13 May 2024, according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world with 45,036,953 reported cases of COVID-19 infection and the third-highest number of COVID-19 deaths at 533,585 deaths. In October 2021, the World Health Organization estimated 4.7 million excess deaths, both directly and indirectly related to COVID-19 to have taken place in India.
A passenger being tested for COVID-19 at the New Delhi railway station during the second wave of the pandemic
A testing facility at the National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi
NITI Aayog health member Vinod K. Paul, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Rajesh Bhushan, and other officials, addressing a press conference on COVID-19, in New Delhi on 13 October 2020.
Special provisions inserted in the Epidemic Diseases Act as a result of COVID-19 spread