Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

KUMBH’S LAST SHAHI SNAN TODAY

- Kenneth John kenneth.john@hindustant­imes.com

PRAYAGRAJ : The Sangam city is all geared up to host the third and the last ‘shahi snan’ of the ongoing Kumbh Mela on Basant Panchami, falling on Sunday, during which over 2 crore devotees were expected to take a dip, said a mela official. According to Kumbh Mela officer Vijay Kiran Anand the highlight of the day will be the procession­s of the 13 recognised akhadas whose seers and saints will head to Sangam for the dip in all regalia for the final time this Kumbh.

PRAYAGRAJ:The Sangam city is all geared up to host the third and the last ‘shahi snan’ of the ongoing Kumbh Mela on Basant Panchami, falling on Sunday, during which over 2 crore devotees were expected to take a dip, said a mela official.

According to Kumbh Mela officer Vijay Kiran Anand the highlight of the day will be the procession­s of the 13 recognised akhadas whose seers and saints will head to Sangam for the dip in all regalia for the final time this Kumbh. Anand said till Saturday evening around 60 lakh devotees had already bathed in Sangam and the crowd was swelling with each passing hour. The auspicious timing of the bathing commenced from 8.54 am Saturday and will continue till 9.54 am Sunday. “All preparatio­ns have been completed. Weak points in mela area, as far as crowd management is concerned, noticed during previous bathings have been rectified. Barricadin­g at certain points in mela area which had got

displaced due to crowd pressure had been repaired besides additional sanitation staff has been deployed in areas requiring more care. Loudspeake­rs have also been placed at watch towers in strategic locations and time to time announceme­nts will be made for ensuring smooth movement of crowd,” he said.

As per the officer, 40 bathing ghats located on a stretch of 8 km have been prepared for the fourth

official bathing.

Senior Superinten­dent of Police (SSP), Kumbh Mela KP Singh said 10 intersecti­ons in mela area have been identified where excessive crowd pressure had led to bottleneck­s during previous bathings.“Additional 500 police personnel, including 24 inspectors, 12 circle officers, 2 company of BSF, etc have been deployed at these spots to deal with the situation,” he added.

 ?? ANIL KUMAR MAURYA/HT ?? Devotees taking a dip in Sangam on Saturday.
ANIL KUMAR MAURYA/HT Devotees taking a dip in Sangam on Saturday.

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