Haridwar: According to reports, millions of corona tests were conducted during the Kumbh Mela event held in Haridwar in Uttarakhand in the midst of the severe second wave of Covid-19 in India have been revealed to be fake.


The Uttarakhand government has said that more than 90 lakh pilgrims took holy baths in the Ganges from January 14 to April 27. Of these, most devotees (at least 60 lakh people) took a holy bath during the country was hit by the second wave of Covid-19. In this context, the state government has ordered an inquiry after it was found that millions of corona tests carried out by the public at the Kumbh Mela event were fake.


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The State Health Department has given permission to 22 private laboratories to conduct corona testing on devotees attending from different states of India. Of those more than four lakh corona tests conducted by these private laboratories during Kumbh Mela, the state health department has found that three-quarters of the test results were fake. Further, after obtaining the Aadhaar ID numbers and phone numbers of the devotees, who attended the pilgrim, it was confirmed in the preliminary investigation that a fake corona infection-free certificate had been issued.


Kumbh Mela is celebrated by the Hindus once every twelve years. The Holy baths were held on three days, April 12, 14, and 27. Of these, the last bath was held only as a sign due to the spread of the corona.