Crowd surge at Kumbh again: Motorboats stopped, pontoon bridges closed
Zonal bathing plan also implemented with immediate effect due to excessive crowd at the Sangam Nose, says district magistrate (Mahakumbh Nagar)
MAHAKUMBH NAGAR With a sudden surge of devotees in the Sangam area, the Mahakumbh administration on Thursday stopped movement of motorboats besides implementing the zonal bathing plan again, wherein devotees arriving here will have to bathe at ghats in their respective sectors.
Pilgrim influx continued even three days after the final Amrit Snan of Mahakumbh on Basant Panchami on February 3. On Thursday morning, a large number of devotees arrived in the Mela area, which led to the administration taking measures to ensure smooth movement.
Roads leading to the Mela area from Kanpur, Rewa, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur and Varanasi witnessed heavy rush and four-wheelers arriving in Prayagraj were made to park in special parking zones set up on the outskirts of the city.
Altercations between devotees and security personnel were witnessed as all 30 pontoon bridges were again closed to restrain pilgrims from crossing over.
By 8am, 37.97 lakh pilgrims had taken the dip. The figure rose to 47.10 lakh by 12 noon, as per the Mela administration.
District magistrate (Mahakumbh Nagar) Vijay Kiran Anand said: “Zonal bathing plan has been implemented with immediate effect due to excessive crowd at Sangam Nose. In such a situation, devotees are irked as all pontoon bridges have been closed. But security personnel are continuously trying to convince them to take the holy dip at the ghat near them and not proceed to Sangam area.”