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Keeping in view the increasing number of devotees at the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela being held in Prayagraj, new traffic and bathing guidelines were issued, as per a release.
As per the instructions issued, devotees or people coming to take a dip from the Parade Mela area towards the Sangam would be able to take a bath at the Sangam and the other ghats built towards the parade area. Devotees or people coming to take a dip from the Jhunsi fair area would be able to take a dip at the bathing ghats built towards Jhunsi. The same applies for the devotees coming from the Arali side --the devotees would be able to take a dip at the bathing ghats built in the Arali area. A 'No Vehicle' zone was also implemented in the entire Mahakumbh area. As per the release issued, only vehicles issued by the Mela Police for the devotees would be able to come to the Maha Kumbh Mela area. The other vehicle owners would park their vehicles at the designated parking spots. Additionally, only emergency or medical services like ambulances and food and logistic vehicles would be allowed. The release appealed to all devotees coming to the Maha Kumbh to follow the rules laid down by the administration and traffic police and cooperate for easy transportation and a safe experience. Meanwhile, the Northern Railway has announced to special Vande Bharat trains on February 15, 16 and 17 for devotees. For the convenience of devotees intending to visit the Maha Kumbh Mela, Railways will run Vande Bharat Special train No. 02252/02251 on February 15, 16 and 17 between New Delhi and Varanasi (via Prayagraj). The Vande Bharat Special Train no 02252 will depart from New Delhi at 5.30 hrs (via Prayagraj at 12.00 hrs) to reach Varanasi at 14.20 hrs. In the return direction, Vande Bharat Special train no 02251 will depart from Varanasi at 15.15 hrs (Prayagraj at 17.20 hrs) to reach New Delhi at 23.50 hrs. the same day. "To provide special facilities to the people going to the Maha Kumbh on weekends to take a holy dip, Indian Railways is running a special Vande Bharat train. This train will run on 15th, 16th and 17th February...This Vande Bharat special train will leave from New Delhi station at 5.30 am and will reach Varanasi at 2.20 pm via Prayagraj. After this, this train will leave Varanasi station at 3.15 pm and will reach New Delhi at 11.50 pm," said Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay. According to the Uttar Pradesh administration, the Mahakumbh has become the first event in the world to have more than 500 million direct participants. This number exceeds the population of several major countries, including the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, making the Mahakumbh the largest spiritual gathering in the world. The local administration reported that 17 million devotees took a dip on Paush Purnima, followed by 35 million on Makar Sankranti, 76.4 million on Mauni Amavasya, 25.7 million on Basant Panchami, and 14 million on Magh Purnima. As of 4:00 PM on Friday, over 7.9 million devotees had taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam. (ANI)
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