Prayagraj: Crores of devotees flocked to Prayagraj for the auspicious Mauni Amavasya snan (holy bath) at the Triveni Sangam, causing severe overcrowding and straining local infrastructure. Many more were still en route, leading to concerns about whether everyone will be able to participate in the ritual.

Gujaratis are among the numerous pilgrims who have arrived for the holy occasion. Those already in Prayagraj are facing immense challenges due to the sheer volume of people on Mauni Amavasya. Mobile networks are frequently disrupted due to too high number of people at a single location in ration of mobile towers, making communication difficult. Accommodation is completely booked, with “No Rooms” signs prevalent across hotels. Pilgrims are resorting to makeshift arrangements in temporary pandals, struggling to secure their belongings and finding themselves to sleep wherever they can.

Devotees present at the site reported that traversing even 500 meters within the vast crowds was proving extremely difficult. The situation had become so challenging that pilgrims were having to stay wherever they find themselves and bathe at whichever ghat (river bank) was accessible. This chaotic scenario has been unfolding since the day before Mauni Amavasya.

With an estimated 80 million people expected to take the holy dip on Wednesday, Prayagraj has implemented a no-vehicle zone around the Mela grounds, stopping all vehicles approximately 15 kilometers outside the city.

Reports indicated that numerous four-wheelers and private buses carrying pilgrims from Ahmedabad were stranded in traffic jams along the roads leading to Prayagraj, some as far as 100 kilometers outside the city. These stranded pilgrims were increasingly worried about whether they will be able to reach the Sangam in time for the Mauni Amavasya snan.

In an effort to manage the influx of pilgrims, the local administration  announced that toll tax will be waived for vehicles entering Kumbhanagari for 72 hours, from 8 PM on January 27th to 8 PM on January 30th. Free shuttle bus services also operate on 13 routes from January 28th to 30th, ferrying passengers from parking areas to the vicinity of the Sangam. Despite these measures, pilgrims were still facing the prospect of walking up to 12 kilometers to reach the Sangam.

Due to issues with mobile network and no-reply of phone calls, it was difficult to contact the missing relatives. Ahmedabad to Prayagraj distance is 1,284 km and ideally it could take 21 hours to travel this distance, however due to traffic jam on the route, the journey is taking over 30 hours or even more. The trains to Prayagraj are fully booked upto March 6. The list includes Ahmedabad-Gorakhpur express, Bhavnagar-Asansol, Azmiabad Express, Ahmedabad-Prayagraj Express among others. Lot many people are travelling to Lucknow and Varanasi by air through Mumbai, Delhi and other airports. DeshGujarat