Fervour peaks in second half, chokes routes

The Mahakumbh-2025 is witnessing the surprising trend of a rise in devotee count in its second half even after three Amrit Snans, putting pressure on the national and state highways connecting Prayagraj to the neighbouring districts Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Kaushambi, Sultanpur and Bhadohi (all in Uttar Pradesh) and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.

- Kenneth John

had come to Prayagraj (then Allahabad) during the 2001 and 2013 Mahakumbh as well. Madhusudan Tiwari, resident of Kashmiri Gate ISBT, Delhi, along with his wife, two sons, brother-in-law Avnish Shukla and his three-year-old son, reached Mahakumbh Nagar on Saturday morning in a car after nearly two days of travel.

Citing heavy crowd, the police got the car parked in Malaka. On the way, the family got stuck in traffic jams at several places.

Madhusudan said bikers were demanding Rs 700 per person for taking them to the Mela area from Malaka. Madhusudan, along with his wife and children, walked seven kilometres and bathed at the Sangam.

Ramesh Bhai, resident of Sidhpur village of Patan district in Gujarat, left for Prayagraj with his friends in a car on Saturday (February 8) morning and reached Ghurpur in Prayagraj on Monday afternoon.

He said the nearly 1000 kilometres could normally be covered in 24 hours but even after over two days, he was till on the outskirts of Prayagraj. The traffic jam worsened from Jabalpur onwards in Madhya Pradesh while on way to Prayagraj, he added.

Owing to the excessive devotee rush, Prayagraj residents are facing severe traffic bottlenecks.