Thousands of ascetics from the three Bairagi Akhadas have refused to camp at the proposed site across the Ganga river during the 2021 Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. This decision was unanimously reached at in a meeting held at Siddhbali Hanuman temple in Bairagi camp. In the meeting president of Shripanch Nirmohi Ani Akhada, Srimahant Rajendradas said that Bairagis and Khalsas will not go beyond the Ganga river.
The president of Akhada further added that those people who had reserved Mela land for Bairagi Akhadas in the Bairagi camp area, must remove the illegal encroachments from the land. The ascetics have demanded from the chief minister of the state and the district administration that since the ascetics of the Akhada are in meditation and practicing austerities most part of the day, they would not camp in the area beyond the Ganga. The former spokesperson of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, Baba Hathyogi said, “The administration must immediately remove the illegal encroachments done on the land and property of Bairagi Akhada.” He further added that the Kumbh Mela was a unique representation of the Sanatan Parampara. With very less time left for the Kumbh Mela to begin, the construction of permanent infrastructural works must be started by the district administration, he added.
Srimahant Vishnu Das said that all the three Bairagi Nirvani Akhadas had their own place in the Kumbh Mela. The government must allot appropriate land to the Bairagi ascetics so that no problem is faced by any ascetic in the 2021 Kumbh Mela.
The national secretary of Nirmohi Ani Akhada, Mahant Ram Sharan Das said, “We are known across the world for practicing severe austerities so the district administration and state government must look into our interest and importance and launch anti encroachment drive in Bairagi camp area.