Colour-Coded Counters, Hi-Tech Control Room: Indian Railways Prepares for 'Shahi Snan' in Kumbh Mela

In order to tackle the sharp spike in number of passengers at Haridwar station starting March 11 ahead of Kumbh 2021, Northern Railways has built four different colour-coded enclosures for passengers to book tickets to various destinations.

“There might be a surge in passengers coming to Haridwar from March 11. We have put four colour-coded enclosures based on the passenger’s destination at Haridwar station. We have made reserved ticket windows inside enclosures,” said Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Northern Railway Uttarakhand.

A centralised hi-tech control room has also been set up by Indian Railways at Haridwar railway station ahead of Kumbh 2021.

The Uttarakhand government has decided to limit the Kumbh this year to 30 days due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Officers in charge of the Kumbh said that those who attend the religious congregation should do prior registration at a portal and should have a COVID-19 negative report.

Kumbh is not only a religious pilgrimage, but one of the largest mass gatherings at one place. It is celebrated four times over a course of 12 years and spans four locations namely Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.

The Maha Kumbh is celebrated in a cycle of 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage sites across India.

Meanwhile, underlining the Yamuna’s acute water pollution, three prominent Hindu seers of the country on Saturday vowed not to take another bath on other ‘shahi snan’ days during the ongoing Vrindavan Kumbh near here unless the river water is clean.

The declaration to boycott the shahi snan in the river on three remaining auspicious days — March 9, 13 and 25 — and thereafter during subsequent Kumbh fairs was made by the chief of the Ayodhya-based Maha Nirvani Akhara, Mahant Dharm Das.

Mahant Dharam Das made the declaration in presence of the chiefs of two other Vaishnavi akharas Maha Nirmohi and Maha Digambar akharas.

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