Mahakumbh 2025: Devotees heading to Varanasi, Ayodhya after holy dip at Sangam

Undeterred by challenges lakhs of devotees thronging the Maha Kumbh for a holy dip at the Sangam are now heading towards Kashi and Ayodhya officials saidAccording to government data an average of 144 crore people are taking a holy bath at the Maha Kumbh every dayDr Sushma who arrived in Prayagraj from Ranchi with her son on Monday told PTI After taking a dip in the Sangam and visiting the fair we will head to Kashi for Lord Shivas darshan and later proceed to AyodhyaSimilarly 74yearold Ketari Devi from Ara Bihar said We saw on TV and mobile that this Maha Kumbh is happening after 144 years After taking a holy dip we will visit Kashi Despite the huge crowd we hope that we will get his darshanNishant Abhishek who travelled from Mumbai added Weve heard that apart from Prayagraj Kashi and Ayodhya are also witnessing heavy crowds But this is a rare opportunity to visit all the three places during Maha Kumbh We will also go to AyodhyaACP Traffic Shailendra Singh said that a significant number of devotees are heading towards Varanasi and Ayodhya after their visit to the Maha Kumbh ADCP Traffic Kuldeep Singh said that compared to the 2019 Kumbh the crowd this time is much larger even on regular days leading to frequent traffic congestionDue to the heavy rush outside the Prayagraj railway station the Northern Railways Lucknow division has temporarily closed it for passenger movement from 130 pm on February 9 to midnight on February 14 an official statement saidHowever eight other railway stations in the Maha Kumbh area continue to operate regular and special trainsAs per government figures over 44 crore devotees have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam till February 9 On February 10 by 10 am over 63 lakh devotees had performed the ritual bathOn key bathing days the footfall has been recordbreaking On January 13 Paush Purnima it was 170 crore while on January 14 Makar Sankranti it was 350 crore and 764 crore highest so far took dip in the Sangam on Mauni AmavasyaWith an average of 144 crore people taking a dip daily authorities are managing an unprecedented surge of pilgrims in the holy cityIn Varanasi a large number of devotees returning from the Maha Kumbh are arriving to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple leading to massive crowds across the cityDue to the heavy rush authorities have imposed restrictions on the movement of fourwheelers in several areas and vehicles from outside the city are being halted at designated parking zones on the outskirts officials saidDistrict and police officials are conducting regular patrols while CCTV cameras and drones are being used to monitor sensitive and crowded areas said DCP Kashi Zone Gaurav BanswalMultiple rain baseras temporary shelters have been set up across the city for visiting pilgrims he addedDCP Varuna Zone Chandrakant Meena said that traffic diversions have been implemented at key locations to manage congestion External vehicles are being stopped outside the city with parking facilities arranged on all major routes leading to VaranasiThe Kashi Vishwanath temple administration has deployed additional staff to manage the surge of devoteesSpecial arrangements for healthcare and queue management have been made to ensure a smooth darshan experience officials saidAccording to temple authorities around four to six lakh devotees are visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple daily amid the ongoing rushIn Ayodhya also the streets leading to the Lord Ram temple and Hanumangarhi are packed Officials are managing the crowd and restrictions have been imposed on traffic movement in the cityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever