Decongestion plan rolled out for better crowd control in Sangam City
Influx of pilgrims stopped by holding back people in the designated holding areas, outflow of people returning home after the bathing expedited
MAHAKUMBH NAGAR Officials and security personnel rolled out decongestion measures across the Mela area and the entire city after the pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam Nose on Wednesday. They ensured that while the incoming flow of pilgrims was stopped by holding back people in the designated holding areas, the outflow of people returning home after the bathing was speeded up.
District magistrate (Mahakumbh Nagar) Vijay Kiran Anand, DIG (Mela) Vaibhav Krishna and SSP (Mahakumbh) Rajesh Dwivedi led the efforts from the front.
To control the inflow, borders of Prayagraj district was sealed with incoming vehicles being stopped in almost all neighbouring and nearby districts including Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Chitrakoot, Jaunpur and Mirzapur, among others. Pilgrims already in the district were stopped and convinced to either turn back or bathe at river ghats closest to their respective locations, said officials.
Police personnel decongested the roads promptly ensuring there was no hurdle to outward bound vehicles, they added.
“The situation was quickly brought under control at the Sangam Nose and the rush of pilgrims too was managed effectively within a short time. Bathing continued at other ghats even as a green corridor was created to rush the injured to the hospitals,” said DIG (Mela) Vaibhav Krishna.
TRAINS EVERY 5.30 MINS
The Railways operated special trains on Wednesday to regulate the heavy crowd that converged on Prayagraj on Mauni Amavasya. Apart from routine trains, Mahakumbh special trains were run from all seven stations of North Central Railway, Northeast Railway and Northern Railway to ferry passengers. As the crowd increased, a train left with passengers every 5.30 minutes. There is a provision to run 360 to 400 trains in wake of the pilgrim rush. These include 180 Mahakumbh special and 180 routine trains, informed officials of NCR.
Trains ran from Prayagraj Junction to Manikpur, Satna, Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi while trains were operated from Phaphamau and Prayag stations on the Lucknow, Varanasi and Ayodhya routes.
The operation of shuttle buses on city roads was stopped on Wednesday, and passengers arriving at Subedarganj railway station faced problems due to this. They had to go towards Sangam on foot. However, the bus facility was restored post 12 noon.
CURBS ON CHITRAKOOOT-PRAGRAJ ROUTE
In a bid to manage the overwhelming influx of pilgrims heading to the Mahakumbh, authorities in Chitrakoot imposed traffic restrictions at several border checkpoints. Vehicles bound for Prayagraj were being halted at multiple locations on Wednesday, with police teams deployed to enforce the restrictions.
Vehicles were stopped at four key points along the Chitrakoot-Prayagraj border, including the Bharatkoop holding area near the Bundelkhand Expressway’s zero point. Hundreds of vehicles, many carrying pilgrims from neighbouring states, were parked in designated holding zones.
Similar measures have been implemented at checkpoints in Rajapur, Mau, and Murgaha under the Bargarh police station, as well as at the Itwa Dudaila border near Madhya Pradesh.
The traffic restrictions, which left vehicles stranded for over seven hours, were part of a broader strategy to ease the congestion in Prayagraj. Authorities indicated that vehicles will be allowed to proceed only once the crowd in Prayagraj thins out. HTC, Kanpur
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