Prayagraj, the name of an ancient place, witnessing the confluence the rivers Ganges and Yamuna, has turned into a sea of humanity as millions of devotees from the country and abroad have started taking annual holy dips from Friday.
Defying coldwave and dense fog, lakhs of people thronged here to attend the annual festival of Magh Mela which got underway in the morning.
Commissioner of Prayagraj twitted about the security condition of mela,
माघ मेला क्षेत्र में सुरक्षा की चाक-चैबंद व्यवस्था बनाये रखने, पूरे मेला क्षेत्र में निर्बाध रूप से विद्युत आपूर्ति की व्यवस्था सुनिश्चित करने तथा माघ मेला 2023 को महाकुम्भ-2025 के रिहर्सल के रूप में लेने को कहा। तत्पश्चात उन्होंने गंगा पूजन भी किया।
— Commissioner Prayagraj (@CommissionerPrg) January 5, 2023
According to information, on Friday alone over 2.5 million devotees have taken dip in the Sangam marking the begining of the event amid a mammoth security arrangement.
The authorities have deployed ATS commandos at the Sangam ghat. Divers have also been engaged near 14 spots for holy dips to ensure safety of the devotees.
The holy dip started early in the morning with the announcement of Har Har Mahadev and Har Har Ganga. Many devotees have started arriving the venue from Wednesday.
Officials here said that Covid protocols have been enforced with the installation of thermal scanning of the participating devotees in the venue.