A celebration of spiritual grandeur

A large-scale sanitation plan has been put in place to ensure hygiene and cleanliness across the Maha Kumbh area with 10 walk-behind sweeping machines, over 150k toilets, 25k dustbins and 5k urinals

- Rajeev Mullick, K Sandeep Kumar and Kenneth John

[e-mail] MAHAKUMBH NAGAR: Baldev Agrahri's reflective jacket gleams in the sunlight as he sweeps the chequered plate roads on the banks of the Ganga, collecting everything from discarded plastic bottles to half-eaten guavas. Holding a garbage bag in one hand and a broom in another, he moves through a maze of pilgrims-all gathering on the holy banks of the mythical sangam of the Ganga, Yamuna and the Saraswati river for the opening of the Maha Kumbh on Monday.

The 39-year-old earns ₹267 a day. His work begins at 9am, and stretches for eight hours. He spends his day sweeping the kumbh area, mela ground and the approach roads, cleaning a stretch of 2km. But the Jaipur resident is not complaining.

"Cleanliness holds great significance in our religion. Even our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) emphasises that it is a form of divine service. I take pride in doing my part to keep the Mahakumbh Nagar clean," he said.

Agrahari is among over 15,000 sanitation staff members deployed for the Kumbh. During his visit last month, PM Modi lauded the "selfless" efforts of sanitation workers, recognising their crucial role in "maintaining the purity" of the event.