Sacred fusion: Foreign devotees embrace Mahakumbh spirit

MAHAKUMBH NAGAR (PRAYAGRAJ): There was a little chaos when devotees in large numbers thronged Sangam banks here for a holy dip on Makar Sankranti before sadhus of different Akharas reached there for the first Amrit Snan of Mahakumbh 2025 early on Monday morning.

- Press Trust of India

After taking the dip, the devotees moved to the area marked for the Akharas to have a glimpse of the Naga Sadhus. The mela administration had erected barricading, deployed a contingent of security force for crowd management and cleared the path for the movement of the sadhus to the area marked for their bathing.

When the sadhus of Shri Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani and Sambhu Panchayati Atal Akhara arrived at Sangam, many devotees crossed the barricading and moved toward the procession. This made the administration's crowd management plan go haywire.

Several devotees joined the procession and moved with the sadhus toward the Sangam. The followers of the Shri Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani and Sambhu Panchayati Atal Akhada also joined the procession.

As the sadhus took the holy dip at the ghat marked for them, the devotees also pushed their way to join the Amrit Snan. For a while, chaos prevailed when the security personnel tried to control the crowd.

The devotees were pushed outside the barricading. Some sadhus also joined the security personnel in moving the people out of the ghat. Later, mounted police personnel moved in to clear the people from the area marked for the Akharas. Several devotees fell unconscious in the melee. Mahanth Ishan Puri of Mahanirvani Akhara said four devotees who fell unconscious near the ghat were moved to a safer spot by the volunteers of the Akhara.

A devotee, Sheetal Pal from Rajasthan, said his father fell unconscious near the ghat. "Fearing that he (Pal's father) might be hurt, I called the security personnel who shifted him to a safer spot," he said.