UP to deliver Maha Kumbh water to over 70 prisons

There are 89,200 prisoners, including 67,200 convicts and 2,700 undertrials, lodged in 75 jails in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh has planned to messenger holy water from the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj to 68 district jails and seven centrals across the state to allow prisoners to bathe in the sacred water, officials of prison and government aware of the development said on Tuesday.

An aerial view of Sangam amid the ongoing ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’ in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. (PTI Photo)

The initiative,a brainchild of state prisons minister Dara Singh Chauhan, is an extension of a scheme first implemented in the Unnao district/central jail, where 800 inmates bathed in the water from the Triveni Sangam on Monday.

There are 89,200 prisoners, including 67,200 convicts and 2,700 undertrials, lodged in 75 jails in Uttar Pradesh.

Director general of prisons PV Ramashastry confirmed that orders were issued to jails to conduct the ritual and complete arrangements by February 21.

Special messengers have been sent out from each of the jails to collect water from the Sangam. 

According to the prison department, special tanks and small pools will be used to mix the holy water. “The Shankaracharyas have stated that adding a small amount of sacred water to regular water is sufficient and equivalent to bathing in the Sangam,” an official said, requesting anonymity.

Chauhan has tentatively set February 21 as the deadline for inmates across the state to bathe with the sacred water.

The initiative follows a similar event at Unnao jail, where 800 of the 1,066 prisoners bathed in the holy water arranged by the jail administration on Monday. Jail superintendent Pankaj Kumar Singh, who travelled to the Maha Kumbh on February 14, brought the holy water on January 16.

Unnao jail superintendent Pankaj Kumar Singh said the initiative was carried out under the guidance of higher authorities. “Special arrangements were made to  ensure the inmates could observe this spiritual practice,” he said. 

“The water was ceremoniously added to a new water tank (Haudi) in the jail premises, where the inmates took their bath,” said Singh.

A video of the event, showing inmates bathing from a large tub filled with holy water, went viral on social media. The footage captured prisoners performing collective rituals, scooping up water from the tub adorned with flowers and garlands and sanctified through traditional rituals and prayers.

After their bath, the inmates chanted “Har Har Gange” and offered an oblation to Lord Surya (Sun god) as part of their religious observance.

The Maha Kumbh in Prayagra is one of Hinduism’s most significant holy events and has already seen millions of people take the dip at the sacred Sangam site.