Now, 2 lakh devotees can bathe in Sangam every hour
The Uttar Pradesh government has made massive efforts to facilitate smooth bathing experience at the Sangam for devotees during the Mahakumbh 2025
The Uttar Pradesh government has made massive efforts to facilitate smooth bathing experience at the Sangam for devotees during the Mahakumbh 2025.
“In this sequence, a remarkable achievement has been recorded as the mechanical branch of the irrigation department--Barrage Mechanical Section Maintenance Varanasi--successfully expanded the Sangam Triveni area by over 2 hectares in just 85 days,” a state government spokesperson said.
The expansion will allow up to 2 lakh devotees to bathe comfortably every hour during the sacred Amrit Snan. The newly expanded triangular area, referred to as Sangam Nose, has created a bathing zone accessible from three sides, significantly enhancing the capacity and convenience for pilgrims, according to the press release.
Chief engineer (decoration and material management) of the irrigation department, Lucknow, Upendra Singh, said: “During the 2019 Kumbh, the government had facilitated bathing for 25 crore devotees. However, over the past six years, river erosion had significantly reduced the area of Sangam Nose.”
“For Mahakumbh 2025, the government has set a target to accommodate 45 crore devotees, necessitating an expanded bathing area. Despite continuous erosion since 2019, the mechanical branch successfully reclaimed 2.60 lakh square metres of land at Sangam Nose, enabling approximately 2 lakh devotees to bathe comfortably every hour.”
As per him, compared to 2019, when the area could accommodate 50,000 devotees per hour, the current expansion has more than tripled the capacity. Additionally, a total of 26 hectares of land has been reclaimed from Shastri Bridge to Sangam Nose. Notably, since 2019, river movement resulted in submergence of more than 2 hectares of land, which has now been successfully restored.
The expansion was made possible through the efforts of a dedicated team led by executive engineer, barrage mechanical maintenance section, Varanasi, Sujit Kumar Singh, along with Surya Bhushan, Pradeep, Anurag and other team members. They operated four large dredger machines to reclaim the submerged area and expand the Sangam region by 26 hectares.
The project began on October 15, 2024, and was completed on January 7, 2025. The team worked in three shifts daily, involving around 25 workers and supervisors per shift. Four dredger machines were used for the operation, removing approximately 7 lakh cubic metres of silt and spreading 6 lakh cubic metres of sand along the right bank between the downstream of Shastri Bridge and Sangam Nose.
Additionally, around 75,000 cubic metres of sand was spread at the Airavat Ghat to expand the bathing area further. The irrigation department also fortified the ghats using 1,650 metres of sandbags to prevent erosion and ensure safety.