Prayagraj. Prayagraj Mahakumbh has started. According to the position of the planets, this year this auspicious time has come after 144 years. There is cultural awareness in the country and people are flocking to take a dip in the Amrit Muhurta. In four days, the number of devotees coming to Mahakumbh crossed seven crores. It is estimated that this number could exceed fifty crore during the entire Kumbh period. The Maha Kumbh event is not limited to bathing only. It is associated with spiritual practice, devotion, positive energy of creation and soul power. This is the largest public gathering in the world. Paush Purnima, this Mahakumbh gathering started from 13th January and will last for one and a half month. In fact, there is a possibility of attaining virtue during the entire Mahakumbh period. Still, there is a huge crowd on special bathing dates. In the first four days itself, the number of people taking a dip in the Sangam has crossed seven crores. There are a total of six specific dates in Mahakumbh this year. On both the dates of Paush Purnima and Makar Sankranti, two special auspicious dates, about five crore people from India and abroad took a dip in the Sangam. On the first day, on 13th January, Paush Purnima, about 1.5 crore pilgrims and on 14th January, Makar Sankranti, about 3.5 crore pilgrims took a dip in the Sangam. After this, the number of devotees coming to Mahakumbh every day is touching the figure of one crore. The number of saints and seekers coming to Mahakumbh is approximately one and a half lakh. Pandals of all the four Shankaracharya Peethas, all the Akharas and prominent saints have been set up. Sermons are going on daily in more than five hundred pandals. About fifteen thousand saints and sages are doing Kalpavas. The duration of Kalpavas is one month. During this period, devotees eat satvik and balanced food. We awaken our internal energy through continuous meditation and regular routine. According to Yoga science, if a person regulates his mind and practices focusing his energy on the Brahmastan Chakra of the body, then he gets connected to the infinite energy of space. According to the Mahakumbh tradition, first the saints take bath and then the general public takes bath. It is believed that after the bath of spiritual seekers and saints, additional energy is infused in the water. By bathing in that energetic water even common people experience additional inner strength. That is why after the bathing of the Akharas and the saints, the bathing of the common people starts.
Major dates of Mahakumbh
The entire period of Mahakumbh is considered as Amritkaal. Bathing taken at any time during this period is important. Still there are some specific dates. Taking bath in them is considered as nectar bath. In these, the royal bath of Paush Purnima and Makar Sankranti has taken place. The third date is 29 January. According to the Panchang, that day is Mauni Amavasya. Even on Moni Amavasya, after the bath of the saints, common people will also take bath in Triveni. According to the Panchang, on this day some energy is generated in the celestial sphere which makes water energetic. That is why bathing in holy rivers is important on this day. It is estimated that more than three crore devotees may come to Prayagraj on Moni Amavasya also. The next auspicious date is 3rd February. This is the day of Basant Panchami. According to mythological stories, this date is the day of appearance of Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. On this day too, first the saints will take a royal bath and then other devotees will take a dip. After this the auspicious date is 12th February. This is the day of Magh Purnima. Generally this is the day of completion of Kalpavas. During the Mahakumbh period, the Kalpavas of saints and seekers started from Paush Purnima. That period of one month is being completed on the full moon day. Although the saints and seekers who have started their Kalpavas from later dates. His will continue now. But the Kalpavas month of most of the seekers will be completed on the full moon day. After this, the date of Amrit Snan is 26th February. This is the day of Mahashivratri. Shivratri is the date of marriage of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati. This is the date of completion of Mahakumbh. The Maha Kumbh stay of the Akharas and Saint Sadhaks gets completed on this day and they leave by mid-day after taking bath in the morning. But groups of ordinary devotees remain. It is estimated that after the formal conclusion of Mahakumbh this year, the presence of general public will continue for at least one more week.
Security and Crowd Management
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Government Yogi ji and his team had probably anticipated the arrival of devotees in Mahakumbh, a gathering of historical and cultural importance. Keeping this in mind, the Kumbh area was expanded and crowd management and security arrangements were made keeping this in mind. Modern technology is being used for both these works. 11 tethered drones as well as anti-drone systems have been deployed in the entire Mahakumbh area for aerial surveillance and crowd management. The responsibility of system control of tethered drones has been entrusted to ADG rank officers. Tethered drones are connected by cable to a ground station. Electricity is supplied to the drones only through these cables. Arrangements have also been made to ensure continuous power flow. Due to this additional arrangement, their working capacity and duration is also higher as compared to normal drones. These drones monitor continuously for 12 hours without stopping. They can fly up to a height of 120 meters and cover an area of 3 kilometers. Equipped with latest thermal and IR cameras, these drones are also equipped with 36x optical and 8x digital zoom capability with 4K live footage both day and night. Four tethered drones have been deployed by the security department of UP Police while four by the traffic department and three Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has been deployed. These drones are being used for everything from crowd management to traffic management, detection of suspicious activities, emergency response as well as manpower management.
Anti drone system also deployed
Along with crowd management, special arrangements have also been made for security and surveillance in the entire Mahakumbh area. Security forces have been called from various districts across Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, special forces have also been deployed along with modern plants. Drones are also being used for surveillance. Also, anti-drone system has been deployed to deal with the aerial threat. A special control room has been created for their monitoring. Anti-drone systems have also been deployed at three sites throughout the fair area. This time some suspicious drones were also seen. Therefore, this time anti-drone systems have also been deployed, which are capable of detecting enemy drones within a radius of eight kilometers and jamming their signals. Apart from this entry drone system, a radar-based system has also been deployed throughout the Maha Kumbh area which can detect any suspicious drone up to 15 km away and deactivate them within three kilometers. According to media reports, so far nine illegal drones have been deactivated in the limits of the fair area in the initial week of the beginning of Mahakumbh. Of these, six drones were deactivated on January 14 alone, on the day of Makar Sankranti. One of these drones was deactivated near the red zone. The operation of tethered drones of UP Police is being monitored by an ADG rank officer along with SP Training and SP Security, while the drones of the Traffic Department are being monitored by ADG (Traffic) and IG Traffic for continuous monitoring, ATS drones are being monitored by ADG ATS. Is responsible for. More than 60 thousand security personnel have been deployed in the entire Kumbh area. The entire area is being navigated through Google.
specific sanitation arrangements
This year the average number of devotees coming to Mahakumbh every day for the Mahakumbh bath is more than one crore. With the coordination of such a large group, cleanliness is also challenging. How many coconuts, how many flower garlands and how many worship materials are being distributed in Triveni Sangam every day. But the Uttar Pradesh government has made the cleaning system so effective that the water looks completely clean. Cleaning teams have been working round the clock in the Mahakumbh area. More than eight crore devotees have taken a dip in the first week of the beginning of Maha Kumbh. Even after so many groups taking a dip, the water is still clear. Hundreds of workers and employees have been deployed for this cleanliness. Sanitation workers with 40 boats are deployed 24 hours at the Sangam. They remain constantly active with nets in their hands. As soon as they see a flower, coconut or any other object, the staff deployed there trap that object and take it out. Along with cleaning the Sangam flowing water, additional teams have also been deployed for cleaning the banks of the Sangam. A specific dress has also been prepared for the cleaning teams. Behind it is written in big letters “Paidan Saaf”.
Devotees also came from abroad
This scheme of Maha Kumbh is not only a center of reverence, faith or attraction for the people of India but also a large number of devotees coming from abroad. There are both types of pilgrims among them. Tourists who have come as a group to see the Kumbh and also foreign travelers who have come for the Kumbh bath with their families along with Shraddha. In this sequence, on Thursday, January 16, a 21-member team from 10 countries took a dip in the Sangam. The accommodation of this team was arranged in a tent city located in Arail area. This complex has been built by Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation for very special travelers. Which will last for the entire Kumbh period. The members of this team also inspected the Mahakumbh area from the helicopter. The international team includes representatives from Fiji, Finland, Guyana, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Apart from this group, travelers from countries like Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Germany, Thailand, Japan, England, America and Spain also took a dip in the Sangam.
Reactions of foreign travelers
Many foreign tourists also shared their experiences with the media. Jeremy from Russia has been living his life according to Sanatan Dharma for the last seven years. He took a dip in Triveni Sangam and also visited temples. He described bathing in Kumbh as a pleasurable experience and said that Sanatan Dharma is logical. There is no superstition in this but there are experience proven traditions. Jonathan, a devotee, came to Kumbh for the first time. “He loved it, the people here are so lovely,” he said. He ate vegetarian food. Described the food, temples, pilgrimage sites and temples as wonderful. Ms. Claudia, who came from Poland, described Kumbh Snan as the most different and pleasant thing in life. Jones, who came with his friends from Spain, said that he felt extra energy after the bath. Described the journey as enjoyable. In this group he has friends from Spain, Brazil and Portugal. Nikki, who came from Cape Town, South Africa, also described her experience as amazing. He told that after bathing he felt extra strength within himself. He also praised the local citizens and administration for making such good arrangements for so many people. The massaji who came from Japan told that he has come for the second time for Kumbh Snan. The happiness that one feels after coming here cannot be expressed in words. He said, “Even though I am not a Hindu, this is a wonderful experience for me.” Misaki, another devotee from Japan, also admitted that she is feeling peaceful here. Manjarika, a devotee from Australia, is a teacher. She is planning to visit India. She heard about Mahakumbh and said that she did not get the experience anywhere else.