Separate authority to handle Nashik Kumbh

A special legislation, called the Kumbh Mela Authority Act, will be enacted to confer administrative and financial powers on the authority and a senior IAS officer will be appointed to head it, the chief minister said on Wednesday

Mumbai: As the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj draws to an end, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has initiated efforts to constitute a separate authority to handle the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik in 2027.

Separate authority to handle Nashik Kumbh

A special legislation, called the Kumbh Mela Authority Act, will be enacted to confer administrative and financial powers on the authority and a senior IAS officer will be appointed to head it, the chief minister said on Wednesday, during a meeting with IAS and IPS officers posted in Nashik district and its surroundings.

BJP leader and cabinet minister in the state government Girish Mahajan, who was appointed guardian minister for Nashik on January 18, only for the appointment to be stayed the next day, was present at the meeting.

“The chief minister had sent a team of police officers to Prayagraj to study the arrangements for the Kumbh mela. Suggestions from the team will be taken into consideration while planning the Simhastha Kumbh mela, he said during yesterday’s meeting,” said an officer who was present at the meeting.

Fadnavis issued several instructions during the meeting, said officer. He said that the Nashik-Trimbak road should be widened by 24 meters; space along the road should be leased out to tent cities; a drone survey should be conducted to check the feasibility of building a coastal road along the Godavari river. Roads from Nashik to Mumbai, Pune, Jawhar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Shirdi, Dhule and Gujarat should be strengthened and electric bus options should be provided to devotees, he said.

The chief minister directed officials to undertake passenger planning at Shirdi, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Ozar airports. A helipad must be set up in Nashik city and facilities should be created at Nashik Road, Igatpuri, and Kasara stations for devotees coming by train, he said. The state road transport corporation will ply special buses from several cities to Nashik to cater to the rush during the 2027 event, he noted. Fadnavis further said that that corridors of religious places like Trimbakeshwar, Shirdi, Vani, Shani Shingnapur, and Mangitungi should be created, and work on the Ram Kal Path in Nashik should be completed by next year. Work on conservation of the Trimbakeshwar temple should be undertaken, and maximum use should be made of artificial intelligence and cutting-edge digital technology, he said.