The Kumbh Mela is the largest human congregation in the world with about 15 crore people expected to visit Prayagraj between now and March.
Kumbh Mela 2019 commenced with first Shahi Snan on Tuesday as sadhus belonging to various akharas took a holy dip in the confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati in the world’s biggest gatherings of human beings, being held at Prayagraj.
The Kumbh Mela is the largest human congregation in the world with over 12 crore people expected to visit Prayagraj between now and March, when the festival will come to a close, for a holy dip at the Sangam.
'Shahi snan' is the central highlight of the Kumbh Mela and the most important part of the celebration. It is only after the completion of 'shahi snan' that people are allowed to take the holy dip.
Security measures have been heightened in Prayagraj and surrounding areas for the auspicious occasion.
From Indian Railways to telecom companies, everyone has taken special measures to ensure best facilities with safety to pilgrims. The budget for organising the Ardha Kumbh is Rs 4,200 crore, more than thrice the budget of the Purna Kumbha in 2013, which occurs every 12 years.
1. Kumbh Mela commences with 'shahi snan'
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'Shahi snan' is the central highlight of the Kumbh Mela and the most important part of the celebration. It is only after the completion of 'shahi snan ' that people are allowed to take the holy dip. The first 'shahi snan' began at 5:15 am on Tuesday.
#KumbhMela2019: Latest visuals from Sangam Ghat in Prayagraj. pic.twitter.com/svXqYKbR3J
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 15, 2019
"There are three shahi snaans (royal bathing days) out of the six bathing dates during the Kumbh Mela. The bathing will commence at around 4.00 am and will continue till 5.00 pm." The 2019 Kumbh Mela will commence on January 15 on Makar Sankranti which will be the first bathing day. Mahashivratri on March 4 will mark the last bathing day," Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) president Narendra Giri told PTI.
(Photo: Reuters)
2. 13 'akharas' take part in 'shahi snan'
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Considered an integral part of the Kumbh Mela, 'akharas' set up at the venue virtually steal the show. There will be magnificent processions of seers and their disciples, and members of various 'akharas' to take part in the ritual of 'shahi snan', also known as 'rajyogi snan', at the start of Kumbh.
The 13 organisations of sadhus that have traditionally participated in the Kumbha Mela are called 'akharas'. For a long time, 13 akharas -- seven Shaiva, three Vaishnava, two Udasina, an one Sikh -- have participated in the mela. In terms of strength, Juna Akhara is the largest, followed by Niranjani and Mahanirvani Akharas.
The 'akharas' were formed following efforts by the eighth century Hindu seer Adi Shankaracharya to unite organisations of ascetics to protect the 'sanatan' way of life. The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has been established to promote mutual harmony and settle any dispute among the akharas.
(Photo: Reuters)
3. Akharas categorised into three categories -- Shaiva, Vaishnava and Udaseen
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Each 'akhara' houses followers of similar religious customs, views and ideologies, who specialise in both scriptures and armaments. According to Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) president Narendra Giri, 'akharas' may be categorised into three categories based on the deities they worship -- Shaiva, Vaishnava and Udaseen. The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has been established to promote mutual harmony and settle any dispute among the akharas.
Of the 13 'akharas', seven are Shaiva and three each are Vaishnava and Udaseen, Giri said. The word 'akhara' came from the word 'akhand' which means "indivisible", he said.
Shaiva Akaharas that worship Lord Shiva in various forms are Shri Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani (Allahabad), Shri Panch Atal Akhara (Varanasi), Shri Panchayati Akhara Niranjani (Allahabad), Taponidhi Shri Anand Akhara Panchayati (Nasik), Shri Panchdashnaam Juna Akhara (Varanasi), Shri Panchdashnaam Aavahan Akhara (Varanasi) and Shri Panchdashnaam Panchgani Akhara (Junagadh, Gujarat).
For Vaishnava Akharas -- Digambar Ani, Shri Nirvani Ani and Shri Nirmohi Ani, Lord Vishnu is the favoured deity.
Chandra Dev, the son of the first Sikh Guru, is considered as the founder of the Udaseen Akhara, whose followers offer their prayer to 'Om'.
Three Udaseen Akharas are Shri Panchayati Bada Udaseen Akhara, Shri Panchayati Akhara Naya Udaseen and Shri Nirmal Panchayati Akhara. A five-member committee looks after the order and operations of the organisations.
(Photo: Reuters)
4. 'Snan' timing for akharas
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6:15 am: Shri Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani, Shri Panch Atal Akhara
7:05 am: Shri Nirmal Panchayati Akhara
8:00 am: Shri Panchdashnaam Juna Akhara, Shri Panchdashnaam Aavahan Akhara, Shri Panchdashnaam Panchgani Akhara
10:40 am: Shri Nirmohi Ani
11:20 am- Digambar Ani
12:20 noon: Shri Nirvani Ani
1:15 pm: Panchayati Akhara Naya Udaseen
2:20 pm: Shri Panchayati Bada Udaseen Akhara
3:40 pm: Shri Panchayati Akhara Niranjani, Taponidhi Shri Anand Akhara Panchayati
(Photo: ANI)
5. More than 12 crore people estimated to visit Kumbh Mela
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Nearly 12 crore people are expected to take part in the event over the next 50 days. Devotees take holy dips at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. 'Shahi snan' is the most important part of the celebration as it is only after the completion of 'shahi snan' that people are allowed to take the holy dip.
The auspicious bathing days of the 2019 Kumbh Mela are Makar Sankranti (January 15), Paush Poornima (January 21), Mauni Amawasya (February 4), Basant Panchami (February 10), Maghi Poornima (February 19) and Mahashivratri (March 4).
(Photo: Reuters)
6. Tight Security for the first Shahi Snan
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Strict security arrangements have been made for the first 'Shahi Snan' of Kumbh 2019. On Sunday evening, the main entrance of the Kumbh Mela kshetra was imparted with intense checking by imposing a barrier and entry of vehicles was banned. Apart from the police, Paramilitary and Army officers will be looking after the security of largest conglomeration of human being on earth. Along with State police, BSF, RAF, CISF, SSB, NDRF, Civil Police, PAC and Home Guards are deployed.
Facts:
Over 20,000 police personnel
4 temporary police lines in mela area
40 temporary police stations
62 police post and 3 mahila thana
(Photo: Zee Media)
7. Special provisions made by Railways for Kumbh 2019
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As the Kumbh 2019 starts,a large crowd is expected to arrive at Allahabad and other stations close to Sangam Ghat. Indian Railways has made special provisions to cater the needs of the pilgrims who will take the rail route to reach the holy city. Speaking to ANI, station director of Allahabad Girish Kanchan said that for crowd management entry and exits are made unidirectional so that easy movement can take place. Colour coding of gates has been done to help passengers move to their dedicated platforms. Kanchan also said that more than 800 special trains will be provided by railways. Railways will give special focus to amenities for passengers like Drinking water, free wifi, and food at cheap rates. Special arrangement of first aid booths, ambulance and fire services will be provided at Allahabad railway platform.
In the wake of the mega event, the Indian Railways had last week announced five special trains to handle the extra rush of passengers. A superfast special train between Allahabad Jn. and Delhi's Anand Vihar Terminal will make a total of 24 round trips between the two terminal stations between January 15 and March 3. It will stop only at Fatehpur, Kanpur Central and Aligarh Jn. stations in both the directions.
The railways will also run trains from Punjab's Bathinda to the Prayag Ghat (4 trips), from Bathinda to Phaphamau (2 trips), from Himachal Pradesh's Amb Andaura to Prayag Ghat (6 trips) and from Chandigarh to Prayag Ghat (6 trips).
"We have started a checking campaign in view of the Kumbh Mela. Government Railway Police (GRP), Civil Police, Railway Protection Force (RPF) among others conducted the checking," Arvind Kumar, Station Officer- Government Railway Police, earlier said.
(File photo)
8. Automatic weather stations, mobile app for Kumbh Mela launched
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Union Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan Monday launched a special weather service for the Kumbh Mela, which includes setting up of four automatic weather stations (AWS). The purpose of this service is to provide information of the prevailing weather and forecasts for the next three days, Vardhan said.
Four AWS have been installed at four different locations in Allahabad and made them operational. The observation sites are distributed in all four directions within the radius of 5-10 kilometres and are located at the Allahabad University, Delhi Public School, G B Panth Institute of Social Science and Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS).
A mobile app named 'KumbhMela Weather Service' has also been developed to disseminate the live weather information on temperature, humidity, rainfall and winds. In addition, the app will also provide weather forecasts and warnings for Allahabad for the next three days.
"The real time location specific weather information will be very helpful for the local and state authorities in the efficient management of the entire event," the minister said.
(Photo: Twitter/PrayagrajKumbh)
9. Facilities
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For the visitors of Mela, the administration has put up 1.22 lakh toilets in line with the theme of 'Swachh Kumbh, Surakshit Kumbh.' In order to meet the drinking water needs of devotees, the Kumbh Mela authority has also installed a total of 50 reverse osmosis (RO) water ATMs at various locations. More than 40,000 street lights have also been put up to avoid any kind of inconvenience to the pilgrim during nights.
Facts
4 tent cities
1.22 lakh bio-toilets
4200 premium tents
1500 autorickshaw
524 buses
300 kilometre of new roads
690 kilometre of water pipeline
40,000 street lights
7,000 sanitation workers
200 ATMs
10. Airtel to deploy pre-5G mobile network tech for Kumbh
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Bharti Airtel plans to deploy pre-5G network technology for its customers at the world's largest congregation Kumbh Mela - to be held between January 15 and March 4 in Allahabad. "Airtel is also boosting its mobile network at the venue to serve the connectivity needs of millions of visitors at the Kumbh Mela. It will be deploying state-of-the-art Massive MIMO technology at the venue to massively enhance its network capacity," Airtel said in statement on Monday.
Massive MIMO is a pre-5G technology that expands network capacity by five to seven times over the same spectrum and helps a large number of concurrent users to enjoy a seamless high speed data experience, the statement said.
A company official said that deployment of the new mobile sites will start this week. Airtel had also deployed this technology at all major IPL venues last year. "In addition, temporary sites and small cell sites will also be deployed at the venue," the statement said.
The telecom firm also announced initiatives to offer a digital Kumbh Mela 2019 experience to its customers. Besides new mobile site, Airtel smartphone customers will be able to stream the Kumbh proceedings including important Snans (religious bath) and Aartis on the Airtel TV app.
(Photo: Reuters)
11. Kumbh JioPhone app with amily locator, lost-and-found services
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Reliance Jio last earlier this month launched an app with family locator, lost and found features and other customised services for Kumbh Mela.
The app Kumbh JioPhone can be accessed from Jio store which will have ‘Family Locator’ feature to help attendees stay close to their family and friends by getting their exact location and ‘Khoya Paya’ (Lost and Found) feature to help them reunite.
“Jio is working closely with the UP Police and KASH IT to ensure experience is delivered,” Jio said in a statement. It said the Kumbh is the largest human congregation in the world, with over 130 million pilgrims taking a holy dip over 55 days.
Besides these safety features, the app will provide information on Kumbh, real-time travel information including special trains and buses, passengers shelters at stations, emergency helpline numbers, area routes and maps.
(File photo)
