Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday announced a month’s salary as bonus for senior officials, who formed the core team of the 49-day Kumbh Mela, which concluded on Mahashivratri on Monday.
He also announced the Kumbh Seva Medal for all the security personnel entrusted with the task of organising the mega religious fair, as well as certificate of appreciation for all staff of government departments involved in the exercise.
The Kumbh Mela set an example not only in the country, but across the world for the successful organisation of an event of such magnitude, Adityanath said at a function held to mark the formal conclusion of the Mela.
He listed many firsts at the Kumbh. Some of these included the prime minister visiting it twice, first to inaugurate it with Ganga pujan and then taking a dip in the Sangam waters, the release of the Kumbh Mela logo, a visit by ambassadors of 70 countries and three world records being set at the mela.
Other highlights of the event were the Akshay Vat being opened for devotees after 400 years, 24 crore people bathing in the Sangam, representatives of 193 countries visiting the mela, Non-Resident Indians (NRI) taking a dip in the Sangam, UNESCO giving official recognition to the mela and over a lakh eco friendly toilets being set up, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Other highlights of the event were the Akshay Vat being opened for devotees after 400 years, 24 crore people bathing in the Sangam, representatives of 193 countries visiting the mela, Non-Resident Indians (NRI) taking a dip in the Sangam, UNESCO giving official recognition to the mela and over a lakh eco friendly toilets being set up, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Yogi Adityanath said Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the message of social equality by washing the feet of five safai karmacharis (sanitation workers) at the Kumbh.
The chief minister compared this year’s Kumbh with previously held religious fairs.
Official records revealed that 40 lakh devotees had bathed in the Sangam in the 1954 Kumbh Mela and 800 died in a stampede, the chief minister said.
Twelve crore devotees had visited the 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela in which three dozen people were killed in a stampede and several hundred were injured.
He said this time 24 crore devotees took the holy dip but no untoward incident occurred, which showed the smooth management by Team Kumbh.
Further, flowers petals were showered on devotees bathing in the Sangam on the main bathing days, he added.
Lauding the efforts of Kumbh officials, the chief minister said he called officials before and after main bathing days and found them alert round the clock.
In his address, governor Ram Naik said the Kumbh Mela was a perfect example of grit and determination and changing the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj was one of the major achievements.
He said during his days as an MP, he had suggested changing the name of Bombay to Mumbai, following which the names of Madras, Bangalore and Calcutta were also changed to Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
All office bearers of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and officials who helped make the mega event a success were felicitated.
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, cabinet ministers Sidharth Nath Singh, Suresh Khanna, Rita Joshi, Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi, besides UP chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey, principal secretary (urban development) Manoj Kumar Singh and director general of police OP Singh were present on the occasion.
A light moment
PRAYAGRAJ: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath lauded governor Ram Naik for his support in organising the Kumbh Mela. In a lighter vein, the chief minister said all took a dip in the Sangam except for the governor. In the coming days, he would ensure that the governor bathed in the Sangam waters, Adityanath said.
Later in his address, Ram Naik clarified that several years back he had suffered a leg injury after which he was advised not to swim.
Call to scale up Magh Mela
PRAYAGRAJ: Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya appealed to the UP chief minister to ensure the Magh Mela was organised as ‘Mini Kumbh’ from the next year onwards with nearly the same investment and facilities, which would ensure similar crowd strength as the Kumbh. The Magh Mela is an annual religious fair held on the banks of the Sangam every year, except when the Kumbh Mela is organised.