Allahabad: Magh Mela 2018 is all set to begin with first bathing day of Paush Purnima on January 2. As per official estimate around 5 lakh devotees are expected to take the holy dip on Tuesday.
From Sunday evening onwards kalpwasis started arriving in large numbers on tractor trolleys, buses besides on foot with bundles of husk and other items of daily need for beginning their nearly month-long penance to be held between first official bathing of ‘Paush Purnima’ on January 2 and end with the fifth bathing of ‘Maghi Purnima’ on January 31, 2018.
Some traffic diversions have been imposed from Monday morning onwards wherein entry of heavy vehicles has been banned. The heavy vehicles will not be allowed entry within city limits one day before each of the six official bathing days and will be diverted through trans-Ganga and trans-Yamuna regions of the district.
For Paush Purnima bathing, heavy vehicles arriving from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh will be diverted towards Gohaniya while those arriving from Mirzapur district and heading for Kanpur, Lucknow and Pratapgarh will be diverted towards Aurai-Handia bypass.
Similarly, vehicles arriving from Varanasi and heading towards Kanpur will be diverted towards Handia-Kokhraj bypass.
The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has pressed in around 1,500 buses on different routes in the state. As per corporation officials, 700 buses have started operating from Sunday onwards for bringing in devotees to Allahabad region from different parts of the state while an additional 800 buses of different regions in the state will cater to the devotee crowd.
District magistrate Suhas L Y and other officials of Magh mela administration reviewed preparations of the mela area.
{{/usCountry}}District magistrate Suhas L Y and other officials of Magh mela administration reviewed preparations of the mela area.
{{/usCountry}}According to district administration, around 15 crore devotees are expected to take the holy dip in Sangam during the 43-day-long Magh Mela. The Magh Mela 2018 is being considered as rehearsal for Ardh Kumbh 2019 and most of its works have been carried out keeping in view the forthcoming Ardh Kumbh.
For the mela, 70.382 kilometre of checkered plates have been laid in the area by PWD besides Jal Nigam has laid 145 kilometre of underground drinking water pipeline besides 16 tube wells. The power department has erected around 9,000 electricity poles for overhead cables.