Over 2.5 crore take 'Amrit Snan' without hitch

The third 'Amrit Snan' at the Maha Kumbh proceeded smoothly on Monday with lakhs of people taking a dip on the occasion of Basant Panchami. Akharas resumed the grand processions that were curtailed last week when a stampede killed at least 30 people.

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By 8 pm, an estimated 2.5 crore devotees had taken the ritual dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati, according to figures shared by the Uttar Pradesh government.

After the stampede that broke out at the Sangam on 'Mauni Amavasya' (January 29), the state government increased safety measures with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directing officials to adopt a 'zero-error' approach.

Unlike the Mauni Amavasya dip when crowd pressure built up at the Sangam, many devotees this time took to other ghats instead of jostling for space at the confluence, according to officials. Chief Minister Adityanath monitored the situation from his official residence in Lucknow since 3.30 am, officials said.

DIG (Maha Kumbh) Vaibhav Krishna said that additional forces were deployed at all pressure points for crowd management.

"Everything is running smoothly today," he said during a pre-dawn patrolling in the Mela area.

Later in the day, the DIG and some senior officers went around the Mela area on horseback to assess crowd management.

"Our crowd management has been good today. No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere yet. Additional deployment has been made at the pressure points. The Amrit Snan is progressing smoothly as per order," Krishna said.