An estimated 1.36 crore devotees took a dip at the Sangam in Prayagraj by 6 pm on Sunday, the Maha Kumbh Mela administration said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday reviewed the arrangements at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and appealed to pilgrims and other visitors to make the religious congregation a success by cooperating in maintaining hassle-free traffic movement. Also, strict security protocols were enforced at the key railway stations in Uttar Pradesh, particularly Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Lucknow and Mirzapur, a day after a stampede at the New Delhi railway station amid large number of people arriving for the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
Addressing a climate change convention in the Maha Kumbh area, the Chief Minister said, “Maha Kumbh is a great festival of faith in which people from all over the country and the world are excited to participate in. In such a situation, everyone’s positive co-operation can increase the event’s success manifold.” Condoling the Delhi stampede deaths, he termed the incident as “unfortunate”. “All devotees are requested not to park their vehicles on roads and instead use the designated parking spaces so that everyone gets an opportunity to take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam,” he added.
“While doing an aerial survey of the Kumbh today, I noticed that people had parked their vehicles on the road before leaving for a bath at the Sangam despite the availability of parking space. If people park their vehicle at a designated place, there will be no traffic jams on roads,” he said.
The everyday footfall at the Kumbh this time was as much as it used to be on Mauni Amavasya on earlier occasions, he claimed, adding this has become the world’s biggest event. On enforcing strict security protocols at the key railway stations in UP, Additional Director General (Railways) Prakash D said, “We have identified holding areas for passengers, as trains have a limited capacity. Platforms too have a limited capacity. The extra passengers coming to the station are kept in the holding areas. North Central Railway’s Shashikant Tripathi said, “We are strictly adhering to the established protocols, which were successfully implemented during festivals like Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami.” At the Prayagraj Junction, entry is restricted to the city side, and passengers are kept in a ‘holding area’ until their train arrives.
In Varanasi, Ashok Kumar from the North Eastern Railway said protocols are in place at Jhunsi and Rambagh stations, where passengers are held in secure areas until their train arrives. Security at Varanasi Junction was also tightened. Station Director Arpit Gupta said vehicle entry is banned around the station, barriers have been placed at key locations, and security forces monitor the crowd. Also, security measures were implemented at Ayodhya’s railway stations. Separate entry and exit points were set up for pilgrims, with GRP and RPF ensuring security. In Lucknow, police were deployed at the railway station.
An estimated 1.36 crore devotees took a dip at the Sangam in Prayagraj by 6 pm on Sunday, the Maha Kumbh Mela administration said. According to figures released by the mela administration, the total number of pilgrims who have taken a dip at the Sangam since January 13, when the Maha Kumbh started, has crossed 52.83 crore. Saturday also saw 1.36 crore devotees taking a holy dip, while on Friday, around one crore pilgrims participated in the ritual, pushing the total number of pilgrims past the 50-crore mark, the administration said.
