Maha Kumbh: More than 66 crore visitors, Rs 3 lakh crore revenue and tons of garbage

Lucknow: The Maha Kumbh, which concluded last month after 45 days, will be etched in history for attracting more than 66 crore visitors, generating transactions worth an estimated Rs 3 lakh crore and also for managing the tons of garbage generated daily throughout the mela.

According to the official sources, an estimated 66.30 crore devotees took the holy dip in the ‘Sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarswati rivers) at Prayagraj, during the Maha Kumbh, which began on January 14.

While the number of devotees during the three ‘Amrit Snans’ on Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami, hovered around three to four crores, the footfall on the other days was also unprecedented this time.

‘’We had expected around 45 crore devotees in the Maha Kumbh but the numbers surpassed our expectations by a huge margin... it also posed a huge challenge to us but we managed it well,’’ said an official associated with the mela.

The event also proved to be a boon for the Uttar Pradesh government as well as for the traders and local business. According to a report, sectors including hospitality, food, transport and logistics, religious articles, telecom and aviation gained immensely from the event.

One family of boatmen reportedly made Rs 30 crore during the Maha Kumbh by ferrying the devotees to the Sangam.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the world’s biggest religious event had contributed Rs three lakh crore to the economy of the state. He said that only Rs 1500 crore was spent on Maha Kumbh. ‘’The rest of the money was spent on beautification of Prayagraj and developing its infrastructure,’’ he went on to add.

‘’Spending Rs 1500 crore and earning Rs three lakh crore… this Maha Kumbh will also contribute to the economy of the country… it will also encourage business and tourism,’’ he said.

The Maha Kumbh also generated tons of garbage. According to the sources, about 400 tons of garbage was generated daily during the event. A trash skimmer machine removed around 10 to 15 tons of floating garbage from the rivers every day. About 1.5 lakh temporary toilets were set up at the Maha Kumbh.

It would take a fortnight to completely clean the Kumbh Mela area, sources said. More than 15 thousand ‘Swachhata Mitra’ and two thousand ‘Ganga Doots’ worked tirelessly to keep the area clean.