1 cr pilgrims to take holy dip in Sangam

An estimated one crore pilgrims will take a holy dip in the Sangam -- the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati -- on Tuesday to mark the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.

The Mela police have deployed five drones, a surveillance network of 200 CCTV sets and over 5,500 policemen for the day.

Reviewing the security arrangements being made for devotees, pilgrims and kalpvasis, SP (Magh Mela) Dr Rajiv Narain Mishra said that the "security has been beefed up in and around mela campus in view of Mauni Amavasya snan on Tuesday".

He added that elaborate surveillance, involving two digitised lost-and-found camps, wireless grids, 13 hi-tech police stations and 36 police outposts, among other things, have been set up to keep the devotees safe during the biggest snan of the religious fair.

The official said the 6-km stretch of ghats on the banks of Ganga was already jam-packed with devotees on early Tuesday and all the five pontoon bridges witnessed a huge influx of people for the occasion.

He said that separate entry and exit points have been created for the safety and convenience of devotees who would be flocking from different parts of the country during the mega religious affair.

Moreover, bomb disposal squads, anti-sabotage teams, and 10 companies of paramilitary personnel and a team from the Integrated Command & Control Centre is also helping the Magh Mela authorities to manage the sea of pilgrims.

Meanwhile, Divisional commissioner (Prayagraj) Sanjay Goyal said that efforts had been made to offer better civic amenities to the pilgrims including sanitation, strict adherence of Covid-19 protocols and crowd management.

The Commissioner said Jal police personnel and swimmers have been assigned at all ghats, adding that adequate number of sanitary workers have also been deployed in and around mela campus shift-wise and the police will be using loud -hailer and ropes to control the crowd at static points.

The officials have also put in place a contingency plan for emergency and claimed that around 30 ambulances have been stationed at all five sectors.