Agra: The 374-year-old animal fair -- one of the biggest and oldest in India -- will not be held in Bateshwar here this year due to the pandemic.
The fair has been held every year since 1646.
Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N. Singh said, "The district council has been informed that permission for organising the Bateshwar Mela can not be granted in keeping with Covid-19 guidelines."
Lakhs of people from across north India visit the fair every year.
That kind of gathering cannot be allowed in the prevailing conditions. In the public interest, the historic fair will not be organised this year.
