Preparations underway for the devotees ahead of Maha Kumbh Mela in PrayagrajPhoto: X/@IndiaInfraTech Preparations underway for the devotees ahead of Maha Kumbh Mela in PrayagrajPhoto: X/@IndiaInfraTech With less than a week left for the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious events across the globe, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo, Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday slammed the authorities over the dredging of the sacred Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.
The Maha Kumbh Mela is scheduled to take place between January 13 and February 26, 2025 in Prayagraj. Millions of devotees are expected to assemble at the holy confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers to attend this religious celebration to get blessings and take a holy bath.
What did Akhilesh Yadav say?Terming the dredging of river Ganga an act of "environmental crime", the SP chief said it was a way to grant contracts to a select group of people to earn money through corruption.
The Kannauj MP shared on X a news clip of dredging in the Ganga for the Maha Kumbh.
"History has been a witness that rivers create their own paths. This natural flow is a self-made path for the continuity of rivers. Accepting this geographical truth, tampering with the flow of rivers is an environmental crime," he said in the post accompanying the clip.
"The purpose of installing dredgers in the Ganga during the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh is only to give contracts to their own people and earn money from them through corruption," he added, without taking any names.
Where the rivers will meet should be left to nature, doing arbitrary things and forcibly changing the flow is both inappropriate and undesirable, he also said.
"Doing so will have a bad effect on the biology of the aquatic life and natural ecological balance of the Ganga," he added.
इतिहास गवाह रहा है कि नदियाँ अपने मार्ग को स्वयं बनाकर चलती हैं। ये प्राकृतिक बहाव नदियों की निरंतरता के लिए, अपने आप बनाया हुआ रास्ता होता है। इस भौगोलिक सत्य को स्वीकार करते हुए, नदियों के बहाव से छेड़छाड़ करना पर्यावरणीय अपराध है। प्रयागराज महाकुंभ में गंगा जी में ड्रेजर मशीन… pic.twitter.com/1brxq8kHma
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 8, 2025 Mahakumbh 2025: Historical backgroundThe important Hindu event of Maha Kumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years, draws millions of devotees from across the world who come to bathe at the holy Triveni Sangam, where the Yamuna, Ganga, and the fabled Saraswati rivers meet.
The origin of the festival and its significance found its place in ancient Hindu literature from thousands of years ago. Popularly, the story of the Samudra Manthan (ocean churning) is connected to the religious celebration as mythologically it is believed that the nectar of immortality fell in four places—Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.
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The 'Shahi Snan' (royal bath), which is one of the key events of the Maha Kumbh Mela, signifies the ritualistic bathing of the holy men and the devotees in the sacred waters of the river.
"The first match in the Olympics is never easy. New Zealand is not an easy team, We made some mistakes, but there were a few good things as well. It's a good wake-up call for the team," Sreejesh said.
The ritual is called 'shahi' (royal) as, on this day, the procession of the holy men belonging to various Akharas (religious orders) to the bathing 'ghats' is considered a royal parade.
The ritual is considered immensely significant as it is believed to cleanse one’s soul of all past sins and pave the way towards Moksha or liberation.
Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Key points to knowDate
big spin casinoThe Maha Kumbh 2025 is slated to start on January 13, 2025 and will continue till January 26, 2025.Here we have listed the auspicious days for taking holy bath.
Beefed up security arrangements
In a bid to ensure the safety and security of the millions of devotees, the authorities have decided to deploy 2,300 CCTV cameras across Prayagraj and the Maha Kumbh site.
From population density analysis, crowd control to incident reporting, and cleanliness monitoring- several measures will be taken up during the religious gathering to avoid chaos and disorder.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, in the Mela region, authorities also plan to construct 1.45 lakh restrooms and 99 temporary parking spaces covering 1,850 hectares.
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'Green Maha Kumbh': Environment in focusIn compliance with the vision of a 'Clean Mahakumbh', authorities have deployed government agencies, public representatives, and local citizens to ensure the success of this historic event without causing any harm to the environment.
As per a press release by the Ministry of Culture, as part of this cleanliness initiative, the Swachhata Rath Yatra was launched today in Prayagraj.
Furthermore, on January 31, Uttar Pradesh's Sangam city is set to host the 'Green Mahakumbh' organised by Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas where over 1,000 environmentalists will assemble to hold discussions on nature and cleanliness.
A national-level discussion will focus on issues related to nature, the environment, water, and cleanliness. Experts will share insights and experiences on maintaining the balance of the five elements of nature and addressing the challenges they face, a release read.
Additionallyfalcon play, discussions will explore ways to raise awareness among Mahakumbh visitors about environmental protection and cleanliness, as well as the campaigns being undertaken to promote these efforts.
