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Mahakumbh-2025: Special arrangements for differently-abled in Prayagraj
The plan is to provide a number of facilities to differently-abled people and senior citizens during the mega religious fair
Prayagraj Mela Authority is gearing up to make Mahakumbh-2025 a grand and special event. For this, efforts are being made to make the mega fair differently-abled and senior citizen friendly by ensuring that the entire tent city has special arrangements for these special groups of people, say officials. The plan is to also ensure that the fair remains environment friendly, they add.
In a preparations review meeting jointly chaired by divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and ADG Prem Prakash on Saturday, special invitee and the state director general, school education, Vijay Kiran Anand gave suggestions in this regard based on his experiences of having served as mela adhikari for Kumbh-2019.
He asked the officials to finalise a concrete plan allowing easy movement for the differently-abled pilgrims and senior citizens to reach Sangam. “Some of the steps can include special toilets at strategic locations across the mela area for differently-abled, ramps at railway ticket reservation counters and key offices and facilities that get set up during the fair to possibly signboards in Braille for the visually impaired,” said a senior district administration official present during the meeting.
Some of the eco-friendly moves could include banning use of polythene and single-use plastic in the mela area, better solid waste collection and disposal besides increasing the capacity of Baswar sewage treatment plant (STP). Presently nearly six STPs in Prayagraj have a total capacity to treat 274 minimal liquid discharge (MLD) waste while after another under-construction STP of 72 MLD capacity gets ready in the district, this capacity would increase to 336 MLD, said a senior district administration official who was present during the meeting.
Running battery-operated e-rickshaws in the mela area too was on the cards, he said. The meeting also resolved to take steps to promote local handicraft and handloom products during the fair and increasingly utilise services of young professionals for better planning and management of the religious fair.
Those present in the meeting included IG RK Singh, DM Sanjay Kumar Khatri, SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey besides Prayagraj Development Authority’s vice-chairman and Prayagraj Mela Authority’s chief executive officer Arvind Chauhan.
