Devotees continue to throng Sangam as authorities gear up for last ‘snan’ on Maha Shivratri

Lucknow: Undeterred by the reports of presence of faecal bacteria well above permissible limits in the Ganga waters, large crowds of devotees continued to throng the Sangam (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarswati rivers) in Prayagraj as the authorities geared up for the last important ‘snan’ (bathing) on the occasion of Maha Shivratri on Wednesday.

According to the sources, so far around 60 crore devotees had taken holy dip in the Sangam, which was a record. On Saturday, sources said, an estimated one crore people took holy dip in the sangam.

Sources said that the number of devotees arriving at the Maha Kumbh for holy dip would increase sharply on Sunday and the next few days. The Maha Kumbh will come to an end on Wednesday with the conclusion of the last important ‘snan’.

The Mela authorities said that elaborate arrangements were put in place for crowd management in view of the Maha Shivratri bathing. ‘’We are expecting large crowds of devotees in the next few days till Maha Shivratri,’’ said an official in Prayagraj.

The entire Mela area has been declared a ‘no vehicle’ zone with only ambulances and other vehicles carrying essential commodities will be allowed inside. Vehicles arriving from outside will be parked outside the town and from there shuttle bus services will be provided to the devotees.

Senior officials will be deployed at all sensitive places where there are chances of crowd gathering. The officials have been directed to ensure that there was no concentration of crowd anywhere near the sangam.

Meanwhile Prayagraj continued to witness huge traffic jams with long lines of vehicles on the highways leading to the town. At some places there were jams running into several kilometres causing huge problems to the people.

There were also reports of auto-rickshaws and bikers fleecing the devotees while offering them rides to the sangam.