Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj witnessed huge crowds gathering at the Sangam on the occasion of Ekadashi as the ongoing Magh Mela entered a crucial phase.
The visuals show devotees turning up in large numbers to take a holy dip, while the administration enforced tight security and continuous police monitoring across the mela area. The second major bathing ritual of the season, the Makar Sankranti snan, will take place on January 15. After the successful Paush Purnima snan on January 3, which saw over 31 lakh devotees, preparations have now intensified for an estimated turnout of more than 1 crore pilgrims.
Massive preparations for record crowds
Authorities have rolled out an extensive plan to manage the expected surge, nearly three times higher than the footfall recorded during Magh Mela 2024 when around 28.95 lakh devotees took the holy dip. Special arrangements have been made at the ghats to ensure smooth movement. Parking zones have also been set up closer to the bathing points so that devotees have to walk as little as possible.
Officials said bathing ghats stretching across 12,100 feet have been prepared with facilities such as changing rooms, toilets and dedicated pathways. A network of 42 temporary parking sites, capable of accommodating over one lakh vehicles, has also been created. To assist the elderly and differently-abled, bike-taxi services and golf carts have also been deployed throughout the mela area.
Water, sanitation and infrastructure boost
To maintain adequate water levels at the holy confluence, around 8,000 cusecs of water is being released daily from the Ganga Barrage in Kanpur. Authorities have also tapped all 81 drains flowing into the rivers to enhance water quality, which is being monitored round the clock. Sanitation has been given top priority with 3,300 workers deployed, 25,880 toilets installed and 11,000 dustbins placed across the area. Suction machines and other equipment are being used to ensure a zero-discharge and open defecation-free mela zone.
Security tightened with multi-layer surveillance
Magh Mela Superintendent of Police Neeraj Pandey told news agency PTI the area has been divided into 17 police station zones and 42 outposts. Security is further strengthened with 20 fire stations, seven fire outposts, 20 watchtowers, a water police station, a main control room and four sub-control rooms. Paramilitary forces have also been deployed. Authorities have added over 8 km of deep-water barricading and 2 km of river-line barricading to ensure one-way movement. More than 400 CCTV cameras, including AI-enabled systems, have been installed across the mela and city to support crowd monitoring, density analysis and incident reporting.