Even as the mercury dipped further adding to the winter chill, Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj began with the annual Magh Mela on the banks of the Sangam on the occasion of “Paush Purnima”.
With more than 3,500 security personnel deployed there, the security has been beefed up in the Mela township this year. To be controlled through the Integrated Command and Control (ICCC), ambulances have been deployed around the Sangam and the areas nearby to tackle the emergency. Apart from this, facilities like transportation, sanitation, ghats, primary health centres, fire-fighting services, ration distribution, potable water, pollution control, lost and found camps among other civic amenities have been made available at the Mela township.
More than 40 lakh devotees are likely to take the holy dip in the Sangam on Friday, January 10, on the event, one of the biggest religious congregations. Because of the lunar eclipse on Friday, the number of devotees could go up further.