Top officials at Prayagraj are geared up to follow Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “zero error” directive for Monday’s final ‘Amrit Snan’ (holy bath) at the Maha Kumbh on the occasion of Basant Panchami.
The directive of zero-error by the Chief Minister came in the wake of a deadly stampede during a previous snan on January 29 where at least 30 people died and over 60 got injured.
To oversee the smooth conduct of the Maha Kumbh Mela, the Uttar Pradesh government has also deployed two senior IAS officers, who were part of the team that successfully conducted the 2019 Ardh Kumbh.
Ashish Goyal and Bhanu Chandra Goswami, who have hands-on experience in administration in Prayagraj, including a deep insight into crowd management and inter-agency coordination during the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, have joined Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand, forming a trio that was part of the mega fair six years ago.
The crowd control measures in the fair area are being overseen by the Additional Director General of Police, Bhanu Bhaskar, himself.
“Please do not linger unnecessarily on the ghats after bathing. Clear the area so that other devotees may take the holy dip. Do not eat or drink on the ghats and go to designated areas for refreshments,” ADG Bhaskar urged the devotees.
Bhaskar further directed police officers at the centre to ensure that no crowd gathers anywhere on the ghats and that devotees promptly leave for their next destination after bathing.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Prayagraj for the first time after the incident on Saturday and inspected the incident site and went to hospitals to check on the condition of the injured.
He directed officials to ensure Amrit Snan is executed “without any errors” in a review meeting regarding the Basant Panchami snan preparations
To ensure a smooth and hassle-free ‘Amrit Snan’, to prevent any kind of disorder, all departments working in the Maha Kumbh are operating together in the ‘Kumbh Command and Control Centre’.
The command centre is monitoring all 25 sectors of the Maha Kumbh, overseeing 30 Pontoon bridges and key barricaded zones. More than 3,000 CCTV cameras are being used to monitor both the city and the mela area.
During the Mauni Amavasya dip on January 29, a stampede at Sangam Nose resulted in the death of 30 people and left 60 injured. Police said due to the massive rush, the devotees jostled for space, breaking a barrier that led to the commotion.
The Amrit Snan is the grandest and most sacred ritual of the Maha Kumbh Mela, attracting millions of pilgrims from around the world to the banks of the Triveni Sangam. Devotees believe that taking a dip during such special celestial alignments washes away their sins and paves path for ‘moksha’, or salvation.
Apart from Amrit Snan dates, there are three other major bathing dates one of which was January 13 (Paush Purnima) while the two others are February 12 (Maghi Purnima) and 26 (Mahashivratri), which also marks the culmination of the once-in-a-12-year-event.