Over 42.90 lakh pilgrims, saints take holy dip in Sangam on Basant Panchami
For Wednesday’s snan (dip), heavy security arrangements were made at different ghats and entry and exit points by the mela police. A detailed and meticulous traffic diversion for smooth movement of pilgrims was also in place. The diversions came into effect from 5am on Tuesday and would remain in force till the night of February 17.
PRAYAGRAJ Over 42.90 lakh pilgrims took a holy dip in the Sangam on Basant Panchami, the fourth and one of the main bathing festivals of Magh Mela-2024, on Wednesday. The mela administration had made elaborate arrangements for smooth completion of bathing festival, including tight security, cleanliness at ghats and other amenities for the devotees.
The Railways and Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) operated special trains and buses for the devotees who reached the mela area from different parts of the state and country.
As the mela administration were expecting a huge turnout , authorities had set up 12 temporary ghats of 8,000 ft in mela area.
Earlier on Tuesday, divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Mahakumbh Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand and Magh Mela Adhikari Dayanand Prasad and other officials inspected different sectors in the mela area and gave necessary instructions to subordinates for cleanliness and laying dried grass on ghats.
The officials had deployed sanitary workers in three shifts who ensured that ghats and the mela area remained clean.
For Wednesday’s snan, heavy security arrangements were made at different ghats and entry and exit points by the mela police. A detailed and meticulous traffic diversion for smooth movement of pilgrims was also in place. The diversions came into effect from 5am on Tuesday and would remain in force till the night of February 17.
Tuesday’s drizzle did give anxious moments to pilgrims and officials alike but on Wednesday no rain, a comfortable minimum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius and faith drove people to ghats in large numbers.
As per the mela administration, 14.70 lakh devotees had taken the dip in the holy waters by 8am and in the next two hours, another 5 lakh devotees took the dip. The numbers continued to swell all day and by 12noon, 25.50 lakh devotees and by 2 pm 31 lakh pilgrims had taken holy bath. By 4pm the count reached 37.60 lakh and by 6pm, the numbers stood at 42.90 lakh. “We focused on better crowd management and traffic movement for which different parking sites were made where vehicles were parked,” said Magh Mela Adhikari Dayanand Prasad.
Arrangements were made in such a way that as soon as the parking near Sangam got filled, the vehicles were made to park at parade ground and the pilgrims needed to trek from there to the ghats of their choice for taking the dip, he added.
Besides, deep water barricading was placed for security of devotees and Jal Police and divers kept an eye on ghats.
“All arrangements were complete on Wednesday, ahead of the Basant Panchami ‘snan’. Help of drones and CCTV cameras was taken to keep an eye on the crowd ,” said Prasad.
The snan concluded smoothly with the support of all the departments, he added.