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Hotels told to pack off from Kumbh Mela

Sharat Pradhan in Kumbh Nagar, Allahabad

Travel operator Cox and Kings and a local agency engaged in setting up five-star accommodation in the Kumbh Mela area have been asked to pack off from the 'sacred' 6000-acre precincts of the world's biggest fair.

Mela Officer Jeevesh Nandan cancelled their allotment on Wednesday following pressure from the sadhus who were opposed to what they termed a "five-star invasion" of the religious festival.

Nandan said, "This has been done under the provisions of the Mela Act which clearly spells out that any activity likely to affect the sanctity of the Kumbh could be banned. Since running of a hotel did not go with the ethos and sanctity of the fair, we had to cancel their allotment."

Replying to questions at a press conference in Kumbh Nagar, Allahabad, Wednesday evening, Divisional Commissioner Sadakant said, "Apart from the opposition by sadhus, a public interest litigation had also been filed in the Allahabad High Court against Cox and Kings in particular and 'hotel' in general and the court had directed me to take necessary action."

Cox and Kings has set up a plush tent colony, largely to cater to foreign tourists converging here to have a feel of the biggest human congregation on earth. The 74 Swiss cottages created in a 5-acre plot allotted to the company against a lease rent of Rs 325,000 were all booked with many accommodation seekers on a waiting list too. The tariff package quoted was of the order of Rs 3,000-4000 a day.

However, trouble began with rumours that the tents were serving non-vegetarian food and liquor.

The matter was also raised during Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Raj Nath Singh's visit last week. Singh too made it clear that any activity going contrary to the traditions and culture of the fair needed to be discontinued.

All efforts by Cox and Kings franchisees, Laxmi Singh and Bhaskar Bhattacharya to convince the authorities and the sadhus that the rumours were not true were futile. Changing the name of the tent colony from 'Sangam' to 'Sangam Adhyatmik Shivir' (Sangam spiritual camp) also failed.

Another Allahabad-based entrepreneur Anil Agarwal, who had set up a similar Swiss cottage complex called Kumbh Village, has also been asked to shut down.

Laxmi Singh told rediff.com , "We have not been informed about the decision. Honestly we have not done anything remotely against the basic tenets of the Hindu religion, so we fail to understand why any action should be contemplated."

Asked what she proposed to do after the order is formally communicated, Singh said, "That we would be able to say only after consulting our lawyers. But a case is already pending before the high court which had fixed January 15 for the hearing, so it is strange that anything should be done while the matter is sub-judice."

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