With COVID cases surging again in Uttarakhand, the state government on Wednesday made it mandatory for devotees to bring a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours for attending the forthcoming Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

COVID-19 cases continued to rise again in Uttarakhand with 200 infections reported on Wednesday out of which the maximum were detected in Haridwar which is in the final stages of preparations to host the Kumbh Mela starting from April 1.

Haridwar reported the highest number with 71 cases, Dehradun 63, Nainital 22 Udham Singh Nagar 14, Pauri, Rudraparayag and Tehri eight each, Pithoragarh five and Almora one, a COVID-19 control room bulletin here said.

Meanwhile, it has been made mandatory once again to bring a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours for devotees gathering in Haridwar for the forthcoming congregation.

Chief Secretary Om Prakash said the Uttarakhand High Court has issued clear directives in this regard.

The High Court has said it will be mandatory to bring a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours or a vaccination report for attending the Kumbh.

Soon after taking over as Chief Minister, Tirath Singh Rawat had said it was not compulsory to bring a negative RT-PCR test report for devotees gathering for the Kumbh. It is a religious event that comes once in 12 years and devotees can attend it freely, he had said.

However, he later ordered strict compliance with the guidelines issued by the Centre in view of the surging positive cases.

Lying low for a few months, the COVID cases in Uttarakhand are showing a rising trend of late.

However, no fresh COVID-19 cases were detected on Wednesday in Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat and Uttarkashi districts. There were no COVID casualties in the state either