Following a massive surge in devotees and more expected on the weekend, the Uttar Pradesh administration declares a no vehicle zone in Prayagraj on February 15 and 16. This comes in order to ensure proper crowd control and traffic management at the Kumbh mela as well as other parts of the city.
The vehicles with Kumbh passes will also not be allowed to enter the Mela premises. They will be redirected and diverted to the parking areas designated nearby. The authorities are even urging the devotees to use public transport, state run shuttle services and walking routes to have a peaceful and uninterrupted movement at the Kumbh.
As the Mahakumbh finishes one month, as many as 50 crore devotees have taken the holy bath till February 14, making it the largest spiritual gathering of the world. On the occasion of Magh Purnima, the snan witnessed over 2 crore devotees in attendance. With only 15 days more, the event continues to gather more and more devotees.
There is a severe traffic congestion at the 7 major highways connecting Prayagraj. Thousands of pilgrims and their vehicles are blocking roads leading to Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Rewa, Bhadohi, Chitrakoot among others. A huge crowd is heading towards Ayodhya Ram Mandir and the Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi.
The administration has set up 44 ghats at the 12 km long stretch of Ganga. As the crowd is growing rapidly, more security personnel, volunteers and medical teams are deployed to ensure proper management, with safety and security of the visitors.
There was a projected estimate of 40 crore devotees at Parayagraj, however the number has already been surpassed with almost 50 crore devotees taking the holy dip at the Mahakumbh. This is more than the populations of other countries of the world, except of India and China. The Mauni Amavasya snan saw a number of 7.5 core pilgrims which even caused a stampede. After that, the administration adopted stricter measures, and no other mishap has been reported.
The final snan of Mahashivratri will take place on 26th February, which will also mark the culmination of the Mahakumbh.