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Report: India

Hundreds of millions at Ganges for Hindu festival of Maha Kumbh Mela

One of the planet’s largest human gatherings starts today in northern India where more than 110 million devotees will get together for Hinduism’s most sacred festival on the banks of the Ganges river.

Reuters/Ahmad Masood
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The 55-day Maha Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival is also a logistical challenge for organizers in a country where stampedes are relatively commonplace.

Nearly twice the population of France will troop to India’s Allahabad city to wash their sins in the frigid waters of the Ganges. They will also offer prayers in a 58 square-kilometre area on the river banks during the Maha Kumbh Mela, held once every 12 years.

Hindus believe a trip to the Mela frees them from the cycle of life, death and re-birth.
Among the visual highlights will be naked and dreadlocked holy men diving into the Ganges, armed with tridents and swords on one of the six auspicious bathing days.

On Day One, today, 11 million Hindus are expected in Allahabad, which last hosted the festival in 2001 when 110 million pilgrims flocked to the spot for a dip on the confluence of Ganges and the river Yamuna. 20,000 police officers are deployed, 35,000 toilets and 14 medical centres are in place. 150 kilometres of temporary roads and 18 bridges have been built for the makeshift city of tents.

More than 7,000 buses and 900 trains will ferry people to and from the three bathing areas. The well-heeled will come by private transport or aircraft. This edition’s celebrity list includes British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. In the past Madonna, Pierce Brosnan and Sharon Stone have also made the journey.

 

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