Maha Kumbh: Massive traffic jam again in Prayagraj, Schools closed

Lucknow: Thousands of devotees heading toward Prayagraj to take holy dip at the ‘sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarswati rivers) were stuck for several hours in the massive traffic jam on Sunday.

According to the reports, army jawans were called in to assist the civil administration in managing the massive flow of vehicles to the town from all the directions. The district authorities have also ordered closure of schools.

Authorities resorted to diversions at many places in a bid to ease the situation, reports said adding that the devotees were forced to walk for several kilometres as their vehicles were parked outside the town.

According to the officials, the jam was caused by the influx of a large number of vehicles from Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and other parts of the country into the town over the weekend.

‘’It took me four hours to cover a distance of three kilometres,’’ said a devotee.

Police personnel formed chains and escorted the crowds of devotees to the Sangam to prevent stampede, reports said.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath was regularly monitoring the situation in Prayagraj and senior officials were deployed to prevent traffic jams. Last week also the town had witnessed a massive jam for a few days on the weekend.

Huge crowds of devotees were reaching Ayodhya and Varanasi after visiting Prayagraj, according to the reports. Queues running into several kilometres were seen outside the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. The Ganga Aarti was cancelled after huge crowds thronged the Ganga ghats, reports said.

In Ayodhya also, the devotees had to walk for several kilometres to reach the Ram Temple as their vehicles were parked outside the town.

Sources said that the authorities have been alerted and directed to regularly monitor the situation at the Prayagraj and Varanasi railway stations following the stampede at New Delhi railway station on Saturday night in which 18 people lost their lives.