On Day 1 of Maha Kumbh, 1.65 crore take dip: ‘The water is more than sacred, it’s salvation’

Over 2 crore people are expected to take a bath at the Sangam on Tuesday.

The day will begin with sadhus of different akharas from across the country taking holy dip at the Sangam. While entry for the general public would be restricted during this time, each akharas has been given a different time slot for the snan (bath), starting with Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani and Shambhu Panchayati Atal Akhara at 6:15 am.

The Amrit Snan by the akharas is scheduled to wrap up by 4:20 pm.

Devotees on the banks of Triveni Sangam during Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on Monday. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Among those who took bath on Monday included Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and veteran BJP leader Uma Bharti. “I have been attending Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj since 1977, but I have never witnessed such excellent arrangements, security, facilities, and the remarkably polite demeanor of the administration and police towards pilgrims,” said Uma Bharti as she congratulated UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

Later, Adityanath also congratulated the pilgrims and thanked the authorities for the success of the first day of the Mela. ]

On Monday, as tens of thousands of men, women, and children waded into the river, submerging themselves three times while murmuring prayers, a young woman held her father’s hand tightly while entering the frigid water; an elderly man paused on the bank, cupping his hands to collect a small portion of Ganga water to take home.

“This water is more than sacred, it’s my salvation,” said 65-year-old Shyamlal Mishra, kneeling in the shallow ghat before submerging himself three times. “I have been coming here for decades. This time the scale is much larger… ” the dry fruits trader from Varanasi said.

Ramchander, a farmer from Madhya Pradesh’s Amarkantak region, had never been to the Sangam before. “My mother always wanted to come to the Kumbh Mela, but never could. She died two years ago. I wished I could bring here with me,” he said.

At the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj on Monday. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Siddharth Bhardwaj (29) arrived at the Kumbh straight from Delhi. A resident of Ghaziabad, Bhardwaj, who works at a private company, doesn’t adhere to strict rituals. As he waited for his turn in the frigid waters, he confessed that he had come at his grandparents’ request.

“They think it will bless me. At least it will make my grandmother happy,” Bhardwaj said.

For Uttar Pradesh Police — 50,000 personnel were deployed in the Mela area Monday — they had their hands full managing the crowds. While the temporary barricades separated the crowd into manageable streams, mounted police on horseback patrolled the crowd, maintaining order amidst the surge of humanity. Pradeep Upadhyay, who was seen applying tilak to the devotees, said he did this work during the Kumbh in 2019 as well but people are more enthusiastic this time.