Magh Mela: 40 lakh devotees take holy dip in Ganga River

On the last day of the Magh Mela on Sunday that coincided with Maha Shivratri, over 40 lakh devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga and Sangam, an official said.

A mela authority official said that devotees started arriving at the fair area since late Saturday night to take a holy dip on the auspicious occasion and over 40 lakh devotees took a bath in the Ganga and Sangam, the official said. District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said that, amidst adequate security arrangements, the Magh Mela ended on Sunday.

Verma said that more than 22 crore devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga and at the Sangam during this year’s Magh Mela, with the highest turnout recorded on Mauni Amavasya on January 18, when about 4.36 crore took a bath. He said the scale of participation this year far surpassed the record of the 2013 Kumbh held in Prayagraj, when around 12 crore devotees had taken the holy dip. The Magh Mela also remained in the news amid tensions between Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and the administration. A controversy erupted on Mauni Amavasya morning at the Sangam Nose when police, citing heavy crowd pressure, allegedly stopped the seer from proceeding to the Sangam in a palanquin along with a large number of supporters.

Following the incident, he did not take the ceremonial bath on any subsequent auspicious day and his differences with the Government continued.