Turnout dips, cops take no chances

But district collector Mahesh Zagade sought to dispel the impression that the stampede had scared visitors away. ‘‘The low turnout was not because of the fear of a stampede. It has been the pattern at all Kumbh Melas in Nashik that the crowd reduces drastically for the third and final dip,’’ he said.

Indeed, today’s Shahi Snan seemed to be relatively a low-key event in terms of participants, noise levels and even colour. As a mark of respect to the victims of the stampede, the number of bands and players were few. Even Sadhugram was silent with no loudspeaker blaring bhajans or instructions.

Officials supervising the crowd seemed to have learnt lessons from the tragedy. The Shahi Marg, the road meant for the exclusive use of sadhus, was closed today for pilgrims even after sadhus had returned to Sadhugram from the holy dip. It was on this route that the stampede took place at Sardar Chowk on August 27.

Two additional exit routes were created for pilgrims to return after the holy dip, and one more was kept reserved in case of any eventuality. For urgent healthcare, a medical aid centre was opened near Ramkund. Movement of visitors from all the 11 entry points into the city was regulated to avoid any jam on the streets. They were stopped at parking lots and released in batches. The district collector said, ‘‘Revised planning had helped to ensure better crowd management.”