Two-three crore devotees take the holy dip on Mauni Amavasya at Kumbh 2019

Amidst chants of Har Har Gangey, the second snan of the ongoing Kumbh 2019 took place on the banks of Sangam on Monday morning, with a sea of humanity converging in the Mela area right from the wee hours.

Even though no clear figure was given regarding the number of devotees who took a holy dip, an official posted at the Sangam area said that by the evening the figure of devotees taking the holy dip touched three crore figure.

Although no effective mechanism has been evolved for calculating actual number of pilgrims visiting the Mela, still judging from the crowd dotting the Mela area and other parts of the city it was fairly evident that the number of devotees present on the occasion was more than 2 crore.

It was a bright sunny morning and the Mauni Amavasya snan started in the wee hours. All roads led to the Sangam area. Entry points at different parts of the city were filled with rows of devotees walking on foot towards the Mela area and vehicles being parked on the outer periphery of the city.

Heavy police force was deployed in all parts of the Mela area and city as the rush of pilgrims started increasing after 7 in the morning. District police had blocked all entry points to the Mela  area from the city and vehicles were stopped more than 6-7 kms from the Mela area.

Cops posted at different points were seen directing the heavy flow of pilgrims to Mela area even as some travelling in personal vehicles made fervent pleas to allow their vehicles inside the restricted. However there was a total ban on the entry of two wheelers and four wheelers on routes acting as gateway to the Mela area.

At the Sangam area, it was a picturesque view with pilgrims filling up the space around the Sangam and taking a holy dip in specially designed ghats. The Mela administration has set up special rectangular enclosures for bathing which were covered with plastic boxes floating on the river on all four sides. This has been done from safety point of view to ensure that pilgrims do not venture into areas where the current is dangerous and may lead to hazards, said a volunteer posted at the spot.

Meanwhile the pilgrims who had come from other states including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had a tough time in reaching their destination as no means of transporation was available for ferrying them to the Mela area. Instead the few vehicles including state transport Kumbh buses which were available only dropped them at different points from where they had to walk upto the Sangam.

However this proved to be bane for some as hey were forced to walk some extra kms enroute to the Sangam as traffic was diverted through different areas to ease the rush before taking the pilgrims to their final destination-Sangam.

A visitor from Patna, Naval Kishore Dwivedi who had come to take a holy dip alongwith his 9 year old daughter appeared visibly angry and fagged out at the fact that they had to toil on foot for nearly 20 kms given the route diversions to reach the Sangam. He said “ yeh kaisa intezam hai ki humko shahar say bhi Mela kshetra janney ka saadhan(Conveyance) nahi mil raha hai.

He added that now his foremost priority is to catch the”earliest train to Patna which departs from Rambagh railway station at 3.30p.m

Similar was the woes who lost their way on return journey as they could not locate the exact route which they had to follow for reaching their destination. Cops brought from other districts and posted at these spots proved little help for pilgrims making hectic queries.

Another visitor from Gonda, Kalicharan said that “ I am happy that I could manage to take a holy dip amidst the heavy rush of devotees. However the long trek upto the Sangam would take a toll on my legs which have started cramping right now.”

On the other hand the different Akharas including the Panch Dasnam Juna Akhara, Maha Nirvani Akhara, Aani Akhara, Agni Akhara, Digambar Akhara and Kinnar Akhara led by their respective heads  and accompanied by rows of Naga saints, elephants, camels, horses and musical bands marched up the Sangam area where they were ushered into the bathing ghats earmarked for them.