Mahakumbh 2025 emerged as a historic event with its divine, grand, and well-organised execution, witnessing an unprecedented gathering of over 66 crore devotees.

Held on the banks of Sangam in Prayagraj, this Mahakumbh marked a sacred occasion after 144 years, drawing immense crowds from across India and the world.

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Amidst the sea of devotees, many got separated from their loved ones. However, thanks to the foresight of the Yogi government and its dedicated efforts, a total of 54,357 separated individuals were successfully reunited with their families.

Among them, a significant number were women. The police also played a vital role in reuniting devotees from different states of India and Nepal with their families.

The UP government implemented several exemplary initiatives to ensure safety in this divine event and its seamless organisation. A key highlight was the establishment of the Digital Khoya Paya Kendra, which facilitated the swift reunion of more than 35,000 separated devotees and their families.

Mela Authorities here on Sunday said during the Amrit Snan Parv on Makar Sankranti (January 13-15), 598 individuals were reunited, while 8,725 people were reconnected during Mauni Amavasya (January 28-30), and 864 devotees during Basant Panchami (February 2-4). Additionally, 24,896 individuals who got separated during other bathing festivals and on regular days were reunited, bringing the total to 35,083 by the end of Mahakumbh.

On the initiative of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, 10 digital Khoya Paya Kendra were set up across the Mahakumbh area. These centres featured state-of-the-art AI-based face recognition systems, machine learning, and multilingual support.

Non-governmental social organisations also played a commendable role, with Bharat Seva Kendra and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Smriti Samiti leading the efforts. According to Umesh Chandra Tiwari, Director of Bharat Seva Kendra’s Bhule Bhatke Camp, their organisation successfully reunited 19,274 lost individuals with their families by the end of the event. All 18 children, who were reported lost, were also safely returned to their families.

The ‘Khoya Paaya’ Centres proved particularly effective in reuniting separated individuals with their families and continuously tracking them until they were safely returned.

On the final day of Mahakumbh, Krishna Devi from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, was reunited with her family, as was Jangi Devi from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Similarly, Jagjannan Dharu from Banke district, Nepal, and Bindi, wife of Sitaram Shah from Saptari, Nepal, were safely reconnected with their loved ones.

The successful reunions at these centres prompted heartfelt gratitude from the devotees, who expressed their appreciation to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for this thoughtful initiative.

Through meticulous planning and compassionate efforts, Mahakumbh 2025 became a symbol of spiritual devotion and set a benchmark for efficient crowd management and humanitarian service.