<p>Lucknow: With millions of devotees continuing to throng the ‘sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarswati rivers) at Prayagraj even after the departure of many akharas and the ‘kalpavasis’ from the Maha Kumbh, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday sought extension of the religious event.</p><p>Speaking to the reporters here, Akhilesh also slammed the Yogi Adityanath government over alleged ‘mismanagement’ at the Maha Kumbh and said that it had ‘tarnished’ the image of the country in the world.</p><p>Yadav cited the example of the Hindu king Harshavardhana, the emperor of Kannauj in the seventh century, during whose regime the Kumbh lasted for 75 days.</p><p>The Maha Kumbh, which began on Makar Sankranti on January 14, is set to conclude on Maha Shivratri on February 26.</p>.Four killed, 6 injured as van carrying pilgrims from Maha Kumbh rams into truck in Gujarat.<p>‘’There are still many people in the country who want to go to Maha Kumbh but are not able to go for various reasons….the government should extend the Mela period to allow them to bathe,’’ he said.</p><p>Akhilesh said that the devotees going to the Maha Kumbh had to face many difficulties. ‘’There was a massive jam running up to 300 kilometres….many devotees lost their lives in the stampede,’’ he added.</p><p>The SP president said that a large number of residents of Prayagraj were not able to take bath in the sangam owing to the massive traffic jam.</p><p>He said that the state government was not disclosing the actual number of devotees, who had taken bath in the sangam so far. ‘’According to our information around 60 crore people have taken bath so far but the state government says only 50 crore visited the Maha Kumbh,’’ he remarked.</p><p>Akhilesh said that the state government was targeting the SP media cell fearing that the latter could ‘expose’ its lies.</p>
<p>Lucknow: With millions of devotees continuing to throng the ‘sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarswati rivers) at Prayagraj even after the departure of many akharas and the ‘kalpavasis’ from the Maha Kumbh, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday sought extension of the religious event.</p><p>Speaking to the reporters here, Akhilesh also slammed the Yogi Adityanath government over alleged ‘mismanagement’ at the Maha Kumbh and said that it had ‘tarnished’ the image of the country in the world.</p><p>Yadav cited the example of the Hindu king Harshavardhana, the emperor of Kannauj in the seventh century, during whose regime the Kumbh lasted for 75 days.</p><p>The Maha Kumbh, which began on Makar Sankranti on January 14, is set to conclude on Maha Shivratri on February 26.</p>.Four killed, 6 injured as van carrying pilgrims from Maha Kumbh rams into truck in Gujarat.<p>‘’There are still many people in the country who want to go to Maha Kumbh but are not able to go for various reasons….the government should extend the Mela period to allow them to bathe,’’ he said.</p><p>Akhilesh said that the devotees going to the Maha Kumbh had to face many difficulties. ‘’There was a massive jam running up to 300 kilometres….many devotees lost their lives in the stampede,’’ he added.</p><p>The SP president said that a large number of residents of Prayagraj were not able to take bath in the sangam owing to the massive traffic jam.</p><p>He said that the state government was not disclosing the actual number of devotees, who had taken bath in the sangam so far. ‘’According to our information around 60 crore people have taken bath so far but the state government says only 50 crore visited the Maha Kumbh,’’ he remarked.</p><p>Akhilesh said that the state government was targeting the SP media cell fearing that the latter could ‘expose’ its lies.</p>