The Mela administration is now engaged in arranging things to ensure that the second snan of the Ardh Kumbh on the occasion of Somvati Amavasya on February 8 and the subsequent Maha Shivaratri snan pass off glitch-free.
The officials say that lacunas left in the first snan would be covered in the subsequent ones. Their focus is on the traffic control and sanitation arrangements for the next snan.
An estimated 20 lakh devotees are expected to come on the second snan, say the Mela officials. Amongst the pending works, the most important is revamping of Hill Bypass Road used as the main alternate route during the key bathing days which links the northern part of the city with the central part and the base hospitals of all the mela sectors lying in Haridwar. Again, the parallel bridge -laltarao bridge- is under construction. It is the only connecting bridge in the densely populated area of middle part of the city. The bamboo barricading being done in Rodi Belwala and Pantdweep sectors is far from complete.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Mela Adhikari S A Murugesan said, “Arrangements for the first snan were satisfactory and we are satisfied of our performance. Now we are focusing on the completion of the remaining works. We hope things would be better for upcoming snan days.”
However, sanitation arrangements are far from satisfactory in the old parts of Haridwar which houses the legendary temples of Daksh and major Akhara establishments. On Monday, the residents and the political leaders staged a protest against the district administration for the unclean conditions of these areas.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the Opposition leader in Nagar Nigam Upendra Dhiman said, “Mela team has given the ‘Safai contract’ to a Congress leader who runs a firm Sparsh Ganga Infrastructure Pvt ltd worth three crores for maintaining sanitation during the entire mela period.
“In all, 390 sanitation workers were to be given the task under the contract while only 30- odd- men are seen moving in green uniform, giving an eye- wash to the cleaning process. The filth remains the same and stray pigs and dogs are seen roaming all the time around the streets of Kankhal,” he added.
Adding to the woes is the fact that the Nagar Nigam sanitation workers are being shifted from Kankhal to the main city areas with the result that neither the private company workers nor Nagar Nigam workers come to clean the drains and garbage bins, alleged Dhiman. “While the whole city is lit up with decorative lights at major crossings, Kankhal area has remained out of bounds for the beautification drive. This is discriminatory and unfortunate,” said one of the residents Ramesh Chhachar.
Health facilities of the mela are in a shambles too. Only 23 doctors have joined the Mela duty so far. Most of the temporary hospitals and primary health centers are being run by the pharmacists alone. Five specialist doctors, including one cardiologist, were sent by a private hospital for first bathing day on the request of mela administration. Crisis of doctors may create problem in days to come when the rush increases.
Mela health officer, BS Janpangi said, “Shortage of doctors is a matter of concern for us and so an indent has been sent to the higher officials. We also requested to local private hospitals to give us support on the key bathing days. We hope that more doctors will join soon on Mela duty.”
Things are unsatisfactory on another count. A foot over bridge is still under construction which is meant to facilitate the passengers coming on platform 2 and 3 to exit from the railway station.
The stairway construction is going on and so is the extension of reservation hall. Moreover, the repair of parking lot has not yet begun. “We are working round the clock to complete the pending works. Six more enquiry counters would be left ready by the time the second snan comes,” said the station superintendent M K Singh.