Maha Kumbh: Maghi Purnima 'Snan' Begins Amid Elaborate Arrangements; Fair Area Declared No Vehicle Zone

The Uttar Pradesh Police are on their toes for the Maghi Purnima sacred bath that began early Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered in the Maha Kumbh Mela area in Pryagraj amid elaborate traffic, crowd control and safety measures. The UP police has already implemented elaborate measures to avoid any unfortunate incidents but with the city exceeding its capacity, it will be a challenge for them to keep things moving in a right direction.

With the Maghi Purnima bath, the month-long Kalpavas will conclude, and approximately 10 lakh Kalpvasis will begin departing from the Maha Kumbh. The administration has urged all Kalpvasis to adhere to traffic regulations and use designated parking areas. Since early morning, lakhs of devotees have already taken the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam and other ghats. Meanwhile, a massive influx of pilgrims continues toward the Sangam Nose.

Kumbh SSP Rajesh Dwivedi said, "The movement of devotees is going on smoothly and we are taking care of all (crowd) pressure points." Officials said they have made elaborate arrangements for the occasion to ensure the devotees take the sacred bath without any hassle. The fair area has been declared a 'no vehicle zone' from 4 am on Tuesday, while the entire city will become a no-vehicle zone from 5 pm onwards, with an exemption for emergency and essential services. To avoid traffic chaos, designated parking lots have been marked for public and private vehicles.

Prayagraj ADG Bhanu Bhaskar said special police forces have been deployed at all places where crowd management becomes challenging. The special traffic plan will remain in force till the completion of the bathing ritual to ensure safe evacuation of devotees from the fair area in case of any emergency.
Bhaskar said that real time data is being collected from toll plazas and officials of neighboring districts so that the number of vehicles coming and the routes can be monitored and regulated.

Officials said the state transport department has arranged 1,200 additional shuttle buses, which will be available every 10 minutes, for the return of the devotees, The Uttar Pradesh government said on Tuesday that only 14 days are left for the Maha Kumbh to end. More than 45 crore people have taken a dip in the Sangam so far since the grand religious event started on January 13.

The Maha Kumbh will conclude on February 26 with the final Amrit Snan on the occasion of Mahashivratri. A stampede during the Manui Amaswya 'Amirt Snan' on January 29 had left, according to the Uttar Pradesh government, 30 dead and 60 injured. (With PTI Inputs)