Mahakumbh: Third Amirt Snan begins amid chants of mantras, slogans of ‘har har Mahadev’

New Delhi: lakhs of devotees took holy dip at the Sangam in Prayagraj as the third and final Amrit Snan on the 21st day of Mahakumbh Mela started early morning at 5 am on Monday.
The Akharas proceeded in their full glory towards Sangam for the Basant Panchami dip. Basant Panchami began at 9:44 am on Sunday, the common devotees started the Amrit Snan. However, the Akharas began their holy dip on Monday morning, observing the ‘Udaya Tithi’ of Basant Panchami.
The first two Akharas to proceed towards Sangam at scheduled 5 am included Mahanirvani and Atal Akharas followed by Niranajani and Anand Akharas at 5:50 am.
The sadhus were seen moving towards the Sangam in procession singing and dancing amid chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev.’
Covered in ash and wearing shades, the sadhus, immersed in deep faith, made their way towards Sagam, riding horses, elephants, and ornately decorated chariots.
All the roads approaching Sangam had a 10-km long stream of devotees as crowds had started gathering for the final Amrit Snan since Saturday.
Over 36 crore devotees have already taken holy dip at Sangam since January 13 till 8 pm on February 2. As per the estimation, 4-5 crore devotees may take holy bath at Sangam till Monday evening.
In order to manage the crowd, at least 60,000 police personnel have been stationed at the mela premises. Crowd monitoring is being carried out using 2,750 CCTV cameras, along with regular helicopter sorties to oversee the area from the sky.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Amirt Snan of Monday, a special crowd management plan, ‘Operation Eleven,’ was implemented at Mahakumbh. The initiative was launched to ensure the safety and convenience of devotees. To manage the massive influx of pilgrims, a one-way route system has been designed, preventing congestion and ensuring smooth movement.
Special arrangements have also been made on pontoon bridges to ensure that devotees did not face any inconvenience while crossing. Moreover, additional police forces was deployed at Triveni’s ghats to prevent overcrowding. Senior officials were also stationed with their teams to monitor the situation closely.
To further streamline the crowd flow, the number of barricades were increased for better regulation and safety.