Allahabad, Dec 31 (IANS) A sea of pilgrims thronged the Sangam here to take a dip on the first day of the annual Hindu festival of Magh Mela Thursday amid heavy security, but the number remained “far below” the authorities’ expectations.
Against the expected figure of 25 lakh (2.5 million) devotees, only about eight lakh pilgrims took the holy dip at the Sangam by Thursday evening, an official said.

“The turnout is much below what we expected,” Pushkar Srivastava, an officer of the mela organising committee, told IANS.

“We believe the poor turnout can be attributed primarily to inclement weather. Now we don’t expect there will be any significant rise in the number of devotees after the evening,” he added.

The officials claimed there were no complaints regarding the arrangements at the Mela, but several devotees were dissatisfied.

“While Allahabad had rains Wednesday that lowered the mercury appreciably, there were no proper arrangements for bonfires,” said Ram Netra Mishra, a pilgrim from Varanasi.

Tribhuwan Kumar, a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district, complained: “Though the number of bathing ghats set up at the Sangam were sufficient, the quality of construction of the ghats cannot be rated as satisfactory.”

Devotees of all ages and genders started lining up at the banks at 4 a.m. to take a dip at the Sangam - the holy confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers.

According to officials, strict security arrangements had been made on the first day of the mela that started on Paush Purnima - an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar.

“For today, we have deployed five companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), two companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), 1,100 constables, 130 sub-inspectors and other security personnel for organising the mela smoothly,” Superintendent of Police N.P. Singh said.

It is believed that taking a holy dip in the Sangam at this time strengthens life and makes it disease free. The Magh Mela will end Feb 12 on Mahashivratri.

“I took a dip for my mother and prayed for her longevity,” said Rahul Sinha, who came from Motihari town in Bihar.

“It is believed today all the gods and goddesses are present at the Sangam and bless those taking a holy dip,” said Mridul Saran, another pilgrim from Bihar.