Even as the Judicial Commission investigating the Mahakumbh stampede began the inspection of the spot on Friday, the Mela authorities are gearing up for the third and last Amrit Snan on Basant Panchami on February 3.

Following the stampede on Mauni Amavasya that claimed the lives of 30 pilgrims, the Mela police have taken stern measures to protect devotees. The fair area has been declared a no-vehicle zone from Friday to February 4, the day of Basant Panchami Snan. Apart from administrative and medical vehicles, all other vehicles will remain banned in the fair area.

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Besides, All VIP passes, along with vehicle passes, have also been cancelled.

On Friday, over 1.58 crore pilgrims took a dip in the Sangam, bringing the total number of devotees visiting the Mahakumbh to over 31 crore in 19 days. Meanwhile, the Judicial Commission team arrived at the Mahakumbh to investigate the stampede that occurred around 2.30 am on January 29.

The commission comprises retired judge Harsh Kumar, former DG VK Gupta, and retired IAS officer DK Singh.

The three-member Judicial Commission held a meeting at the Circuit House, which was attended by Commissioner (Prayagraj Zone) Vijay Vishwas Pant, Fair Officer Vijay Kiran Anand, ADG (Prayagraj Zone) Bhanu Bhaskar, DIG Vaibhav Krishna, and other police officers.

Sources said that the officials associated with the fair were unable to answer the commission’s questions properly, with many officers preoccupied with acclaiming their works. In response, the commission asked, “If everything was well, how did the stampede happen?

The commission asked the officials, “When you knew that such a large crowd was going to gather, what were the security arrangements? Did a similar incident occur outside the Sangam region? What is the reality behind the videos going viral in the media? Has there been any incident in Jhunsi as well?” They also asked for CCTV footage of all events and details of the planning made for crowd control.

DIG (Fair) Vaibhav Krishna said here on Friday that under the new system, the fair area will be a no-vehicle zone from 31 January to February 4. These steps have been taken to maintain an organised flow of devotees within the fair area.

DIG and Nodal Officer (Mahakumbh) of the Commissionerate, Dr Ajay Pal Sharma, informed that the ‘D-1, D+1’ plan will be implemented on the Basant Panchami day. Under this plan, no vehicles will be allowed to enter the city one day before and after February 3 (i.e. from February 2 to February 4). This system will also apply to pass-holder vehicles. Buses, minibuses, and cars of devotees will be parked at the nearest parking sites. From there, they will be able to travel to the parking lots around the fair area by shuttle buses or other small vehicles. Devotees will have to walk to the nearest ghat and return the same way.

After the stampede at the Mahakumbh, the state government became alert ahead of the Basant Panchami bath. On Friday, the government took additional measures by sending four SPs and three ASPs to Prayagraj to ensure vigilance at the Mahakumbh.

These officers include Deepender Nath Chaudhary, Laxminivas Mishra, Raj Dhari Chaurasia, and Shravan Kumar Singh. Apart from this, ASP Vikas Chandra Tripathi, Om Prakash Singh, and Praveen Kumar Yadav have also been sent to oversee the event.

Senior IAS officers Ashish Goyal and Bhanu Chandra Goswami, who had worked during the Ardh Kumb in 2019, have already been deployed at the Mahakumbh. These officers will remain in Prayagraj until February 15 to assist in improving the arrangements.

Among the other officers deployed for duty at the Mahakumbh on Thursday, 2016-batch IAS officer Atul Singh, currently serving as Special Secretary in the Food and Logistics Department, is also involved. Additionally, several PCS officers, including Joint Director Ashok Kumar from the Youth Welfare Department, Additional District Magistrate (Civil Supplies) Ashutosh Kumar Dubey from Kanpur, Additional District Magistrate (Judicial) Prafulla Kumar Tripathi from Hardoi, and Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) PTU Chauhan from Basti, have also been deployed at the fair venue.

On Mauni Amavasya, all entry routes into the district were sealed due to the massive crowd in Kumbhanagri. Due to this, thousands of people cancelled their hotel bookings after being stuck en route, causing significant damage to the hotel industry. However, the Tent City remains fully booked, with no rooms available until February 7.

Hazinder Singh, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Welfare Association, admitted a decline of about 20 per cent in bookings but hoped that the situation would improve after Basant Panchami.