Thaindian News

Allahabad, Dec 30 (IANS) The annual Hindu festival of Magh Mela will begin here Thursday with nearly 25 lakh devotees expected to take a holy dip at the Sangam on day one, an official said Wednesday.
“We expect the Magh Mela, which will continue till Feb 12, to attract a total of around 1.5 crore pilgrims,” Allahabad District Magistrate Sanjay Prasad told reporters.

“All major construction work, particularly the one related to the bathing ghats, has been completed. For the convenience of the pilgrims, seven bathing ghats have been set up,” he added.

Magh Mela’s main ritual involves taking a holy dip at the Sangam - the holy confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers - on auspicious dates.

Heavy security arrangements have been made for the Magh Mela, which also attracts a large number of foreign tourists.

“The entire area of 1,435 acres where the mela is being organised has been divided into five circles with 10 police stations,” Allahabad Deputy Inspector General of Police Chandra Prakash said.

“Officials from the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU), Special Task Force (STF) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) would also be assisting us,” he added.

Significantly, health authorities have made special arrangements for tackling swine flu in view of the visit of foreign tourists at the mela.

“For handling the swine flu cases, we have reserved 20 beds in the district hospital, while four beds have been reserved at the government hospital that has come up at the mela site,” Allahabad Chief Medical Officer R.D. Dwivedi said.