Nearly 15 Million Hindus Attend First Day of Grand Kumbh Festival in India

prayagraj - Nearly 15 million people have gathered on the first day of the Indian Hindu festival Maha Kumbh Mela (the Kumbh Festival), six times more than expected.

On the first day of the Indian Hindu festival Maha Kumbh Mela (the Kumbh Festival), nearly 15 million people have gathered, according to state chief minister Yogi Adityanath. This turnout is six times more than expected, and in the coming days, hundreds of millions of Hindus are likely to visit Prayagraj for what might be the largest gathering of people in history.

Every three years, a Kumbh Festival takes place, but some editions are more special than others. This year marks the grandest festival of Hinduism, celebrated only once every 144 years. The last time this occurred was in 1881, and the next Maha Kumbh Mela will be in 2169.

The festival lasts for twelve days, with over 400 million visitors expected during that period, which amounts to one in twenty people in the world. They all converge on the North Indian city of Prayagraj, also known as Allahabad, where the sacred rivers Yamuna and Ganges meet, believed to be the mythical invisible Sarasvati River flowing as well. On Monday, 15 million people took a holy dip in the confluence.

The religious festival represents a massive logistical operation for India, the country with the largest population in the world. To accommodate all visitors, a temporary city with 150,000 tents has been set up next to Prayagraj. 40,000 officers are present to manage the crowd.

In 2013, a tragedy occurred at the Prayagraj train station during the festival. 42 people lost their lives in a stampede, and 45 were injured. This year, the railway authority has deployed an additional 98 trains, enabling 3,300 extra trips to be made in twelve days, in addition to the regular schedule.