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The Maha Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, is concluding on Wednesday (February 26) on the occasion of Maha Shivratri in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. The 45-day congregation, which began on January 13, drew crores of devotees and pilgrims from India and the rest of the world.
Many sadhus at the Maha Kumbh gained overnight fame. From politicians to celebrities, everyone flocked to Prayagraj to take a holy dip in Triveni Sangam. However, a deadly stampede at the religious gathering, long traffic jams and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report on water quality in the Ganga at the Kumbh Mela left a bad taste in the mouth.
As the mela comes to a close, here is a wrap.
The Hits
The Maha Kumbh Mela was grander than ever. As per the Uttar Pradesh government, 60 crore devotees have taken a holy dip in Sangam so far. This tally is expected to reach 65 crore on the day of the final Amrit Snan on Wednesday, it said in a statement.
“This Maha Kumbh has seen the largest participation in any religious, cultural, or social event,” the UP government claimed, as per PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and several other Union ministers were among those who bathed in Sangam during the Maha Kumbh.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were among the politicians from the opposition to take a holy dip at the Maha Kumbh.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, his mother Kokilaben and sons Anant and Akash also took part in the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Other business leaders including Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and Laurene Powell Jobs, philanthropist and the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, were also among those spotted at the religious gathering.
Celebrities like Akshay Kumar; Coldplay singer Chris Martin and his partner, actor Dakota Johnson; Guru Randhawa; Katrina Kaif; Vicky Kaushal; Anupam Kher; Shankar Mahadevan; and Remo D’Souza, also participated in the mega religious gathering.
Diplomats from 73 countries, including Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, took a holy dip in Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati in Prayagraj.
The Maha Kumbh Mela has also proved to be a big boost to the northern state’s economy. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said last week the religious gathering will help the state’s economy grow by more than Rs 3 lakh crore.
“The potential of Uttar Pradesh which the world is witnessing today can be linked to the Maha Kumbh Mela. The Maha Kumbh alone is going to help the economy of UP grow by over Rs 3 lakh crore,” Adityanath said during the Question Hour of the Budget session of the Assembly.
According to the UP government, over 7,000 women underwent initiation into sanyas in different akharas at the Maha Kumbh Mela. These women took ‘Guru Diksha’ in all the major akharas and vowed to protect Sanatan Dharma.
Bollywood’s old trope of siblings getting separated in the Maha Kumbh Mela seems no longer valid. This time, the digital lost-and-found centres at the congregation helped reunite more than 20,000 missing people with their loved ones, the UP government said.
Equipped with advanced AI-powered facial recognition technology, machine learning and multilingual support, these centres were installed at key locations, including the Prayagraj Junction Railway Station.
The Misses
Several controversies erupted related to the Maha Kumbh Mela.
A tragedy unfolded on the morning of Mauni Amavasya at the Maha Kumbh as a stampede killed dozens of devotees. At least 30 people died and 60 others were injured as the stampede broke out at Triveni Sangam Ghat in the wee hours of January 29. A sea of devotees were jostling for space to take a holy dip when a barrier reportedly broke , leading to a crush.
While, initially, the UP government was tight-lipped about the casualties, it revealed the figures later.
Opposition parties slammed the state government over the tragedy, blaming alleged “mismanagement” and “VIP culture” for the mishap.
Several reports also claimed there was another stampede on the same day at the Maha Kumbh Mela.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report on Ganga’s water quality at Kumbh also made headlines. “River water quality was not conforming with the primary water quality for bathing with respect to faecal coliform at all the monitored locations on various occasions. A huge number of people (are) taking a bath at Prayagraj during Maha Kumbh Mela in the river, including auspicious bathing days, which eventually leads to an increase in faecal concentration,” the report said.
Last week, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to provide adequate details on faecal coliform and other water quality parameters in the Ganga river in Prayagraj. It also ordered the state government to submit the latest water quality analysis reports from different points of the river at the Maha Kumbh Mela.
The UPPCB has rejected CPCB’s report, claiming the water quality at the Sangam is fit for bathing.
Rush and traffic jams were also linked to the Maha Kumbh Mela. As per reports, thousands of devotees visiting the Maha Kumbh were stuck on highways for hours as traffic jams spanning hundreds of kilometres were witnessed on routes leading to Prayagraj.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced flak by referring to the Maha Kumbh as “Mrityu Kumbh” over the stampede. “This is Mrityu Kumbh… I respect Maha Kumbh, I respect the holy Ganga Maa. But there is no planning… How many people have been recovered?”
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav also created a row after he blamed the stampede at the New Delhi railway station on February 15 on a failure to manage the crowd heading to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, saying Kumbh was “faltu (meaningless)”.
The Viral Tales
The Maha Kumbh Mela brought fame to many of its attendees. From “IIT Baba” to Monalisa, many of those at the Kumbh gained the spotlight.
Mona Bhosle, a teenage girl selling Rudraksha beads at the Maha Kumbh, went viral for her looks. Widely known as Monalisa, she has now bagged a film.
Abhay Singh, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, left the field and embraced spirituality. As his story came to the limelight, he earned the monicker “ IIT Baba ”.
Atma Prem Giri Maharaj, a 7-foot-tall Russian famous as ‘Muscular Baba’, also captivated attention at the Maha Kumbh.
Digital Baba and Bullet Baba are some other ascetics to grab eyeballs at the religious gathering.
A man in Prayagraj offering “digital photo snan” to those who are unable to take the holy dip at Sangam has also gone viral.
With inputs from agencies
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