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100 Sikh Pilgrims Returning From Pakistan After Baisakhi Test Positive For COVID-19

100 Sikh Pilgrims Returning From Pakistan After Baisakhi Test Positive For COVID-19
Women devotees at Lahore's Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

After the Kumbh Mela devotees, it is now the turn of Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan. A 100 Sikh devotees have tested positive after returning from Lahore's Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

Written by Jahnavi Sarma |Updated : April 22, 2021 6:32 PM IST

Baisakhi, a spring harvest festival for Sikhs and Hindus, marks the Sikh new year and also commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth (saint warriors) under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Around this time, many Sikh devotees travel to Lahore, Pakistan, to visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib on the last day of Baisakhi. This festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm and fervour in Punjab. But this year's celebrations have had an unfortunate outcome. Many devotees, upon their return to India through the Wagah border near Amritsar, have tested positive for COVID-19. After the Kumbh Mela, this is another example of religious fervour leading to a spurt in COVID-19 cases in the country. At a time when the virus is still going around infecting millions of people, such devotion can be dangerous indeed.

350 devotees out of 800 tested so far

A 'jatha' of 815 pilgrims reached Pakistan's Lahore on April 12 to celebrate Khalsa Sajna Diwas and Baisakhi at the religiously significant Sikh shrines. Out of a total of 800 Sikh pilgrims who went to Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi, a 100 have tested positive for COVID-19 on their return after they underwent the rapid antigen test, according to official reports. A total of 350 devotees were tested tested for COVID-19 using rapid antigen method the results of many are awaited. Many have returned to Amritsar and they will have to undergo the more accurate RT-PCR method, according to officials.

Foreign Ministry extends help

The Foreign Ministry has been in constant touch with the pilgrims to ensure their safety. The Pakistani High Commission in Delhi had issued 10-day visas to over 1,100 Sikh pilgrims for Baisakhi travel out of which 800 devotees travelled to visit Sikh shrines besides attending the main function at Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal on April 14. On their return, they paid obeisance at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur on April 19 and took out a 'nagar kirtan' from there to the Zero Line located along Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side. Under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, many pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to attend festivals every year.

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Punjab has some 38,000 active COVID-19 cases, according to government data. The state was among the first including Maharashtra and Gujarat that started reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, before the crisis went nationwide in what is now being called a deadlier second wave. This time around, many more people are complaining of breathlessness. These patients need oxygen support to survive. However, the supply of oxygen has become severely limited due to the sudden jump in demand across cities and towns.

(With inputs from Agencies)