People gather to take a holy dip at the Sangam on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti' festival, during the ongoing 'Magh Mela', in Prayagraj.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: An estimated 80 lakh devotees took the holy dip at ‘Sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers) in Prayagraj on Wednesday on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Large crowds of devotees had started flocking the bathing ghats since midnight on Tuesday and the Sangam and its adjoining ghats resembled a sea of humanity as the day progressed. ‘’By 12 pm, around 50 lakh devotees had taken the holy dip,’’ said an official in Prayagraj.
The administration has made elaborate arrangements in the ‘Magh Mela’ (an annual pilgrimage on the bank of Ganga in Prayagraj) and vehicles were not allowed in the Mela area.
The roads leading to the Sangam were filled with devotees, who were seen carrying their belongings on their heads, who had arrived from across the country. The entire town was full of devotees.
Teams of NDRF and SDRF along with PAC and civil police were deployed on the ghats to manage the surging crowds of devotees. ‘’Bathing continues at Sangam without any problem,’’ the official said.
ATS and paramilitary force jawans were keeping a watch on the crowd from the watchtowers.
‘’The Mela area has been divided into sectors and 12 thousand feet long ghats were made ready for bathing….water police have been deployed at every ghat….sanitary workers were also deployed in large numbers to maintain cleanliness,’’ the official said.
The officials said that the devotees would continue to flock the Sangam till Thursday as some people would be celebrating Makar Sankranti on Thursday.
As many as 17 police stations, 42 police outposts, 20 fire stations, and a water police station have been set up in the Mela area.