While India’s daily coronavirus cases continue to rise, millions of Hindu pilgrims flock to the Ganges River

Hindu devotees packed the streets of Haridwar, in northern India, on Monday for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, in scenes that defied social distancing rules just as Covid-19 infections soared in the country.

As many as 5 million visitors were expected to descend on the city Monday — an auspicious day in the ongoing Kumbh Mela religious festival, which was delayed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At the festival, devotees wash away their sins in the river’s sacred waters, which are believed to turn into “amrita” — the nectar of immortality — on auspicious days like Monday.

At least 650,000 people had already taken a dip in the river by early Monday, according to police Insp. Gen. Sanjay Gunjyal. Throughout the day, there will be an estimated 11,000 to 18,000 people in the water at any time, spread across the 15 main riverbanks, said Mukesh Thakur, a senior police official.