The grand announcements and insights into Mahakumbh 2025 were done in the presence of Shri Arun Kumar Saxena, Minister of State (Independent Charge), and Shri Sanjay Gangwar, State Minister.

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Sri Yogi Adityanath, the Uttar Pradesh government is committed to establishing Mahakumbh 2025 as a worldwide representation of India’s cultural cohesion. Shri Arun Kumar Saxena, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Forest and Environment, Zoological Garden, and Climate Change, led a massive roadshow in West Bengal as part of this initiative and vision. The Governor of West Bengal, Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose, Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee, and the distinguished citizens of West Bengal were invited to take part in the Prayagraj Mahakumbh-2025, he said, highlighting the Mahakumbh as a special celebration of unity within India’s diversity. He underlined that the government is making major efforts to guarantee that the event would be historic, with participation from around the world and cutting-edge facilities.

He told reporters following the roadshow that the Mahakumbh is a glorious and colorful symbol of ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshth Bharat-Samaveshi Bharat (One India, Great India, Inclusive India)’ and reflects the essence of India’s cultural and spiritual consciousness.

More than 450 million pilgrims, saints, ascetics, and tourists are anticipated to visit in 2025. The government of Uttar Pradesh has made timely and careful preparations.

The Mahakumbh will take place in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26, 2025, on the sacred banks of the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. It is recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It will once again be held in the holy land of Prayag after a gap of 12 years.

Some of the highlights of the Mahakumbh are as follows:

• Single-use plastic-free Mahakumbh.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has committed to providing for the upkeep and care of the three lakh plants that have been planted throughout Prayagraj, even after the Mela has ended.
• Numerous specialized physicians have been sent out. At the Parade Ground, a hospital with 100 beds has been established. Additionally, smaller hospitals with eight beds and two additional hospitals with twenty beds each have been prepared. The Army Hospital in Arail and the Mela area has established two 10-bed intensive care units. Doctors will be on call around the clock at certain hospitals. There will be 182 nurses, 90 Ayurvedic and Unani specialists, and 291 MBBS physicians and specialists in all. Furthermore, many institutions have established distinct wards for men, women, and children. There will also be doctors’ offices, emergency rooms, and delivery rooms available.
• Launch of a dedicated website and app, an AI-powered chatbot in 11 languages, QR-based passes for people and vehicles, a multilingual digital lost-and-found center, ICT monitoring for cleanliness and tents, software for land and facility allocation, multilingual digital signage (VMD), an automated ration supply system, drone-based surveillance and disaster management, live software for monitoring 530 projects, an inventory tracking system, and integration of all locations on Google Maps.
• 101 smart parking facilities have been created, to accommodate up to five lakh vehicles daily. The parking area spans 1,867.04 hectares.
• To make bathing easier for devotees, nine new ghats have been built in Mahakumbh city in addition to the 35 permanent ghats that are already there. All 44 ghats, which are dispersed over a 12-kilometer radius, will receive aerial flower showers. He added that a 15.25-kilometer stretch on the banks of the Ganges, from the Sangam to Nagvasuki Temple, Surdas to Chhatnag, and close to Curzon Bridge to Mahavir Puri, has been constructed as a riverfront, based after Mumbai’s Marine Drive. To improve crowd control, the Integrated Control Command Center has also been updated. For real-time CCTV surveillance, four viewing centers with 52-seater configurations have been built.
• The first approach is attribute-based search, in which person attribute search cameras will be used for tracking. The pilgrims will be given RFID wristbands as part of the second technique. RFID readers will be used to track admission and exit timings via these wristbands. The third approach is mobile app tracking, in which pilgrims’ location is recorded via GPS using a mobile application with their permission.

With such amazing arrangements, Mahakumbh 2025 will indeed be a great place for the devotees.

Priyanka Dutta