Prayagraj: The Magh Mela administration and police are pulling out all stops for a massive crowd of 3.5-4 crore pilgrims on Mauni Amavasya, considered the largest bathing festival of the 45-day fair.Officials estimate a massive 3.5-4 crore pilgrims will reach Sangam on Mauni Amavasya, up from over 1 crore on Makar Sankranti.Mela Adhikari Rishiraj said lakhs of devotees have already arrived and are likely to stay till Mauni Amavasya. He added that nearly 30 lakh people had arrived a day before Makar Sankranti itself, indicating the scale expected on Jan 18. On Mauni Amavasya eve, all roads to Sangam were flooded with devotees.
People of all ages trudged along, luggage on head, heading to the mela area with devotion.In view of the massive turnout, the administration has developed a new 600-foot-long ghat near the Kali pontoon bridge and divided the entire mela area into three major administrative zones for better crowd regulation.Under the zonal plan, devotees coming from Jhunsi and Arail sides are not allowed to move towards the Sangam from other sectors and will remain confined to their respective zones. According to the scholars of the department of astrology, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, Mauni Amavasya will have have an auspicious period of 25 hours and 15 minutes, beginning at 12:04 am on the night of Jan 17 and continuing till 1:22 am on Jan 19. The Amavasya yoga will prevail even after midnight, while the muhurat for bathing and meditation will remain valid till 2:48 am on Jan 19.Divisional commissioner Soumya Agarwal has directed officials to ensure seamless coordination and asked officers, especially first-timers, to get familiar with their duty charts.Revenue department employees have also been deployed this year and will be responsible for monitoring movement between two poles so that the crowd does not accumulate at any single point. Satellite phones have been provided to key personnel to maintain seamless communication.Agarwal emphasised that pilgrims should not be allowed to stay on the ghats for long after taking the holy dip. Police officials have been instructed to ensure entry and exit only through designated routes so that opposing crowds do not confront each other.
Beggars will not be permitted near the ghats, and people applying tilak will be restricted to earmarked places.Deep water barricading must be checked by Saturday itself, she said, adding that cooking near the ghats should be strictly prohibited. Fire safety in camps must be ensured, and emergency teams should respond without delay in case of any alert. She also stressed continuous coordination with railways and roadways so that train announcements are timely and platforms are not changed abruptly.Police commissioner Jogendra Kumar and SP Mela Neeraj Pandey were also seen inspecting the preparations for the entire day on Saturday.Considering the anticipated unprecedented rush on the third major bathing festival of Magh, the entire mela zone has been declared a no-vehicle area. Entry of heavy and light vehicles at the borders of Prayagraj has been banned from midnight of Jan 17 and will continue till midnight of Jan 19.
Only administrative and medical vehicles will be allowed during this period. Akshayvat darshan will also remain suspended.The administration has appealed to devotees to use designated parking lots and pedestrian routes, warning that the restrictions may be extended if crowd pressure continues.Vehicles arriving from Prayagraj city, as well as from the Kanpur-Lucknow, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Rewa sides, will have to be parked at specified parking sites. A one-way traffic system will operate on pontoon bridges. For movement from Parade Ground towards Jhunsi, bridges number 3, 5 and 7 will be used, while bridges 4 and 6 will facilitate return from Jhunsi to Parade. Pontoon bridges 1 and 2 will remain reserved for emergency situation.
