Kumbh Mela 2019: More than 12 crore visitors to attend the shahi snan

The administration gets ready for the first Shahi Snan on Tuesday, when over 12 crore people and sadhus are expected to take a dip in the confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati- to cleanse their sins in the world’s biggest gatherings of human beings, to be held at Prayagraj.

The Ardh-Kumbh, that falls every 12 years, is expected to see more than 15 crore people taking a dip to cleanse their sins, in an almost 55-day long festival beginning on January 15. It is believed that the holy dip on the occasion frees a person from the cycle of death and birth.

“Over 15 crore pilgrims from India and abroad are expected to attend this festival, that will start on January 15 and would continue for the next 55 days till March 10,” UP government spokesman Awanish Awasthi said on Monday.

Over 1.5 crore people are expected to take a dip at Sangam – the point where three rivers meet, on January 15 – the first day of the festival. There are six auspicious days, depending on alignment of stars, where a Hindu devotee would take a dip to wash away their sins in the frigid waters of the rivers.“It would be the first Shahi Snan (Royal bathing day), in which sadhus will take bath in the river in a big procession. It will be a big show, despite temperature of the area being around 5 degree Celsius,” Awasthi said.

The Shahi Snan will start at 5 am and would continue till evening,” the official said.

The Shahi Snan, one of the most important events of Kumbh Mela, will witness naked Naga Sadhus of different sects marching in a big procession towards the river and then taking a dip at the auspicious time, amid the chanting of hymns and shlokas. Some of these sadhus would come riding horses and chariots.

The vast Kumbh Mela ground spreads over 3,600  hectares and has been turned into a tent city. Around one crore small tarpaulin tents – green, blue and saffron in color – have been set up on the Kumbh Mela ground. Over 1.2 lakh makeshift toilets have been set-up and over 25,000 sweepers deployed to keep the area clean.

“The scale of this year’s Kumbh mela has almost doubled. Not only the area has gone up from 1,400 hectares to 3,600 hectare, even the budget of the mela has gone up to ₹4,300 crore from last time’s ₹1,200 crore,” Awasthi said. “With this budget, permanent structures like roads, over-bridges and ROBs have been constructed. The vast Kumbh area will be illuminated with 40,000 LED lights,” he said.

Sadhus or Holy Saints have started swarming the area. Sadhus of different sects, called Akharas, have pitched their tents, according to their hierarchy. First to enter is Juna Akhara, said to be the biggest sect. Heads of the Akharas have entered the Mela grounds in a big procession, led by bands. Devotees lined up on the two sides of the roads, showering flower petals on them.

It is the fear of stampede, getting lost in the sea of multitude as well as the logistics to provide food, water and shelter to the milling crowd that is bothering officials. "New roads have been laid. Entry and exit points are well-defined and adequate measures have been taken to ensure drinking water for the visitors," said Vijay Kiran Anand,  Mela Adhikari, who is in-charge of Kumbh mela.