Prayagraj brimming with activities on eve of Maha Kumbh

PTI, Jan 12, 2025, 8:48 PM IST

Credit: PTI

Mahakumbh Nagar: All arrangements have been put in place in Prayagraj, where the 45-day Maha Kumbh will commence Monday on the auspicious occasion of ‘Paush Purnima’ in the Sangam area, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati rivers.

A day before the first major bathing ritual or ‘Shahi Snan’, PTI on Sunday took stock of the preparations made for the devotees at the Sangam and other ghats.

Apart from the Sangam banks, many changing rooms have been built along the rivers where the boatmen have been given life jackets for the devotees. A board fixing the rates for boat rides has also been put up for the convenience of the devotees.

Vishnu Nishad, a local boatman, sounded excited about the large number of devotees expected to come here for ‘Shahi Snan’ over the next one-and-a-half months.

“All the boatmen are excited due to administration’s decision to increase fare,” he said.

In a first, an underwater drone has been deployed for the safety of the devotees, which is capable of monitoring every activity under the water 24 hours a day, officials said.

Inspector General of Police (Eastern Zone), Rajiv Narayan Mishra, said the drone, which functions at a very high speed, can keep an eye on the target even in the dark and do reconnaissance up to a depth of 100 metres.

Also, PAC, NDRF and SDRF teams will be deployed on 700 flagged boats to ensure the safety of the devotees, along with the placing of remote life-saving buoys on a large scale, he said.

The main ‘Shahi Snan’ days this time will fall on Makar Sankranti (January 14), Mauni Amavasya (January 29), and Basant Panchami (February 3), when the area is expected to witness an increased footfall of devotees.

A large number of people are also coming to meet the Naga seers, especially at the Juna Akhara in Sector 18 of the fair area.

Similarly, a number of domestic and foreign devotees have reached the camps of Pilot Baba, Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Avdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhara, and Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri of Niranjani Akhara.

As the adminstration races against time to complete all the arrangements, a few complaints have been raised alleging lack of basic facilities at a few camps in Sectors 6 to 19.

Manish Tripathi, who has set up a camp for the ‘Kalpvasis’ in Sector 18, claimed taps are yet to be installed there.

Similarly, Shivakant Tripathi, who has set up a camp in Sector 6, claimed while five taps have been installed in his camp, only one is functional.

Complaining of lack of basic facilities, Narendra Nath from Sector 15 claimed, “The officials do not go for inspections anywhere except the Sangam, VIP and Akhara areas. There are 500 units in the entire fair area whose plots are lying vacant. They have been allotted space, but the tent houses have refused to set up the tents.”

Prabhudas from the Rajdhani Khalsa Camp in Sector 21 also claimed that he had to make all the arrangements, including setting up tents etc., himself.