Translation from Navbharat Times
HARIDWAR, INDIA, January 15, 2004: As Haridwar prepares for the four-month-long Ardha Kumbha Mela, Swami Chinmayananda expresses his concern about the inadequate preparations for the event. For the first time in history, the Central Government is footing the bill for the Mela and has given the Mela Administration the sum of US$30 million. However, according to the article, neither the roads have been completely built, nor is the arrangement of cleanliness satisfactory. Swami Chinmayananda says that the Mela Administration should be given zero marks for cleanliness. He also pointed out that a claim by the Mela Administration that 500,000 devotees took a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti was not true. The Minister of State for Home Affairs adds, “That till now the Administration has not been able to provide proper facilities of drinking water and electricity supply at the public and private bathing ghats.” There are also reports of pilgrims coming back from the Mela with illnesses caused by polluted water.