(Singapore, 16 Jan 2025) The world’s largest religious gathering, the six-week-long Kumbh Mela festival, officially began on January 13. It is a celebration of faith, spirituality, culture, and tourism, but it also presents a major challenge for authorities in managing the vast crowds.
Officials estimate that over the next 45 days, at least 400 million people will travel to Prayagraj, a number greater than the entire population of the United States and 200 times the number of Muslims who made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina last year.
According to western media, over the course of the festival, more than 400 million people are expected to visit the city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to bathe at the confluence of three sacred rivers: the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mystical, invisible Saraswati River.
The Kumbh Mela is held every three years in rotating locations, including Haridwar in Uttarakhand, Prayagraj, Nasik in Maharashtra, and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.
The festival returns to the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers once every 12 years, making this the most sacred and largest gathering. The Kumbh Mela was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017.
Devout Hindus believe that bathing in the holy waters can cleanse them of sins, and taking part in the Kumbh Mela is seen as an opportunity to escape the cycle of birth and death and attain salvation.
To accommodate the massive influx of pilgrims, a 4,000-hectare area along the riverbanks has been transformed into a new township, with 150,000 tents, 3,000 kitchens, 145,000 toilets, and 99 parking lots.
Authorities have also installed 450,000 new electricity connection points, with an anticipated electricity demand that will surpass the monthly consumption of 100,000 urban apartments.
In addition to regular trains to Prayagraj, Indian Railways has launched 98 special trains that will run 3,300 times during the festival to transport the pilgrims.
