Unprecedented surge of faith in Sangam City, 10 cr pilgrims expected at Mauni Amavasya Amrit snan today

Nearly 2,700 AI-backed CCTV cameras keeping surveillance for any overcrowding or undue assemblage in any sector, say officials

MAHAKUMBH NAGAR Prayagraj saw an unprecedented surge of pilgrims on Tuesday with over 7 crore devotees jostling their way into the Mela area and its periphery for Mahakumbh’s second Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya, the mahurat for which began at 7.35pm.

Sea of humanity at Mahakumbh ahead of the second Amrit Snan of Mauni Amavasya in Prayagraj on Tuesday. (Photo: UP Information Dept)

An anticipated 8-10 crore devotees taking the holy dip at Sangam on Mauni Amavasya is a rare challenge faced by the Mahakumbh administration that has chalked out a strategy to maintain order in the Tent City all through the day, specially during mahurat timings (for the snan) spanning between 7.35pm on Tuesday and 6.18 pm on Wednesday.

A whopping 4.83 crore devotees bathed in Sangam waters between 12am and 8pm during the day with 28 lakh taking the holy dip with each passing hour - the highest-ever hourly average recorded so far at the mega fair, said officials.

As the Brahma Mahurat begins at 3.35am on Wednesday, celestially charging the trinity of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, the ‘Arunoday ki kiran’ (rays of dawn) at 5.15 am is considered the most auspicious moment of the day.

According to ADM (Mahakumbh) Vivek Chaturvedi, bathing plans are already in place with all devotees asked to bathe at ghats in their respective zones. “All 30 pontoon bridges have been blocked till Thursday to prevent devotees crossing over to the Sangam area.

Announcements are also being made urging pilgrims to leave bathing ghats and Mela area immediately after the holy dip. Currently, over 7 crore devotees are already there in the Mela area and its periphery. All agencies, including intelligence and police personnel, have been put on alert,” he said.

SSP (Mahakumbh Nagar) Rajesh Dwivedi said special preparations have been made for the second Amrit snan. “Devotees are being urged to remain alert and not get carried away by any kind of rumours.

Intelligence agencies are on alert in wake of recent terror threats, though found to be fake. We are closely monitoring the situation 24x7. Nearly 2,700 AI-backed CCTV cameras are scanned for any overcrowding or undue assemblage in any sector,” he added.

After the bathing, exit arrangements are being made from Triveni road.