As Uttar Pradesh gears up for Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, President Ramnath Kovind will visit the mammoth congregation of faith on January 17. This was informed by Additional Chief Secretary (Information and Tourism) Avnish Awasthi in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Awasthi said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would formally inaugurate the Kumbh on January 10 by opening the gates of Akshayvat and unveiling the statue of Goddess Saraswati along with other government-run camps and other facilities.
Awasthi said President Kovind would be visiting Kumbh on January 17 while vice-president Venkaiah Naidu would also visit Sangam, though his date has not been finalised.
The top official said that the CM would inaugurate several religious and cultural camps at Kumbh on Thursday next and would address a media conference. “During his visit, the CM will visit several places in Kumbh Mela area, including camps of saints and release a coffee table book on Kumbh and open the media centre," he said.
Claiming that the government has made elaborate arrangements for Kumbh Mela, which is double in comparison to 2013 Kumbh, Awasthi said that the total area of the mela had been doubled to 3,200 hectares from around 1,500 hectares while funds invested this time was Rs 4,300 crore while it was Rs 1,200 crore last time. "We have constructed around 250 kilometres of roads in the mela area while, for the first time, a tent city has been erected for pilgrims with basic facilities like toilets, changing room near bathing ghats," he said.
Without projecting any estimated number of pilgrims likely to visit the Kumbh starting from Makarsankranti on January 15 for the next 45 days, Awasthi said that in 2013, around 120 million people visited the mela and this time too the number was likely to go up as the government had invited people from across the country to take part in the mega event.