In a move to build up coordination with the Haridwar district senior administrative and police officials, deputy superintendent (DySP) of Maharashtra Police Yogesh Chauhan along with a four-member team from Maharashtra arrived in Haridwar on Tuesday.
They asked the officials of Haridwar district administration, Ardh Kumbh administration and the common people to visit Nashik during the Kumbh Mela 2015. The seniors asked the Haridwar-based officials and the common people of Uttrakhand to do everything to make the mega religious congregation now being held in Nashik a success.
While interacting with the mediapersons later in the day, Chauhan said the administration has taken all possible steps to ensure that millions of pilgrims who are expected to throng Nashik by roads and rails, face no difficulty in participating in the grand pilgrimage. “We have arranged sprawling parking spaces five kilometres ahead of the ghats. At parking facilities, all amenities like shelters, toilets, changing rooms, community kitchens, food stalls, hospitals, drinking water, cloak rooms and police assistance booth are available,” he said, adding that frequent shuttle service from the parking lots to the nearest ghat has been arranged too with the help of government buses. However, no private two- wheelers are being allowed entry in the mela premises, he said.
He further said that an estimated one crore pilgrims and three lakh seers are likely to visit in Nashik Kumbh. It may be mentioned that a temporary township christened as Sathyagram spread over 223 acres of land has been built up for the seers, coming from different akharas, missions and khalsas on the bank of river Godhawari. He informed that about 22,000 police staffs of all ranks are being deployed for Kumbh Mela 2015.
Chauhan said that the main purpose of their visit is to make the people here more aware of the arrangements being made by Nashik administration for Kumbh Mela. Quizzed over any threat perception vis-à-vis the terrorist organisations, he said they have so far received no such threat. However, they are alert.
SP Ardh Kumbh Shweta Choubey informed The Pioneer that a team from the Ardh Kumbh Haridwar might be sent to Nashik to see the arrangements being made by district administration and police department there. “It will surely benefit us and boost our confidence to take the challenge of holding glitch free Ardh Kumbh slated to begin here in January next,” he added.