New Delhi, Feb 11 (EFE).- Indian authorities on Tuesday ordered a total closure of traffic in the northern city of Prayagraj, hosting the Maha Kumbh Mela, on the eve of another auspicious day, and after kilometers-long traffic jams were reported a day earlier on routes leading to the city.
“In view of the easy movement of devotees and bathing in Prayagraj city and the Mela area, No Vehicle zone will be applicable in Prayagraj city after 5 pm on 11th February. In the above arrangement, vehicles for essential and emergency services will be exempted,” the police of Uttar Pradesh state, where Prayagraj is located, said in a statement.
On Wednesday is Maghi Purnima, the fifth of the six days during the Mela considered especially auspicious to bathe in the confluence of several sacred rivers for Hinduism, which is expected to attract tens of millions of pilgrims.
The last big day for the “snan” (bath) was on Feb. 3 and attracted more than 20 million devotees, according to the authorities’ data.
The authorities have banned vehicular traffic in the festival area, which spans some 10,000 hectares, from early Tuesday morning, and the measure will be in force “until the smooth evacuation of the devotees” on Wednesday, according to the statement.
Thousands of people heading to the Kumbh Mela on Monday were caught in multiple traffic jams that were reported even more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from Prayagraj, with some drivers saying that they needed up to 12 hours to cover 50 kilometers.
The delays were especially long in the vicinity of Prayagraj, where according to data from Google Maps, there were 15-kilometer traffic jams that delayed the arrival of the devotees by more than two-and-a-half hours.
Train tickets have been sold out since before the start of the Hindu festival on Jan. 13, while the cost of plane tickets has multiplied, leading millions of people to opt to travel by car.
The largest turnout at the Kumbh Mela was recorded on Jan. 29, considered the most auspicious day, when authorities reported that more than 76 holy baths took place in the rivers that converge at the site where the festival is being held.
That day, however, a stampede was reported on one of the routes leading to the bathing areas, which resulted in 30 deaths and more than 50 injured.
According to regional authorities, 450 million people are expected to attend the Kumbh Mela, which ends on Feb. 26.EFE
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