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Others Shri Panchdashnaam Aavahan Akhara

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No one is officially invited. Yet millions congregate at the Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. Dates are fixed; so are the routes. What has changed is the magnitude of the event. At the Ardh Kumbh, which is held every six years, in Prayagraj, as Allahabad has been recently renamed, 12-14 crore pilgrims are expected to come over 49 days. The budget has gone up more than three times — from Rs 1,300 crore for the 2013 Kumbh Mela to Rs 4,200 crore now — and the size of the mela ground has increased from 2,000 hectares to 3,200 hectares.looks at the pilgrim site’s progress.Duration: 49 days, from Makar Sankranti on January 15 to Shivratri on March 4Expected Footfall: 12-14 croreSize of Mela Ground: 3,200 hectaresOverall Budget: Rs 4,200 crRs 509 crore for 10 flyoversRs 300 crore on beautification of 32 squaresRs 298 crore on improvement of 34 roadsRs 280 crore on sanitation and cleanlinessRs 1,388 on widening of 116 roads and expansion of 1,291 parking lots22 Pontoon bridges being built across the Yamuna1.25 lakh Toilets at Kumbh site. Pink toilets for women and special ones for differently abled pilgrims141 km Chequered plate roads being built over sand85 Holding areas for crowd management800 Special trains to Prayagraj1,000 Swachhta Praharis to ensure cleanliness20,000 Dustbins94 Parking lotsAkshay Vat, a sprawling banyan tree, is considered both ancient and sacred. It is in the Allahabad fort precincts and is expected to be a big draw.Sanskriti Gram, spread over 7 acres in Arail area, has 300 artists from Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Varanasi, among others.Facilities for yoga and naturopathy as well as cycling and water sports.Chopper rides to get a bird’s-eye view of the pilgrimage.To keep the river as clean as possible, the National Green Tribunal has banned commercial activity within 100 m of Ganga between Bijnore district and Unnao-Kanpur region. The state government has closed all tanneries in Kanpur and Unnao from December 15 to March 15. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has permitted two tanneries — Mirza International and Rahman Industries — to continue operations on the condition that they will not discharge effluents into the Ganga. Sisamau drain, which discharges 14 crore litres of untreated sewage to Ganga every day, has been diverted to Jajmau sewage treatment plant. Sugar mills in UP have been asked to ensure zero-effluent discharge in the Ganga basin.Every square and public building in Prayagraj has been painted with figures of deities and mythological symbols. Although locals are temporarily inconvenienced, the city is benefiting from new flyovers and roads and widening of existing ones, dividers, stations and over-bridges. The fact that Prayagraj is part of Smart City project is adding to the developmental work. A new Prayag Ghat Railway Station has been built for special trains.At the Integrated Command Control Centre, 120 experts will work round the clock on surveillance and crowd management. Around 1,150 CCTV cameras and 135 watch towers will cover the area. The mela site will have 40 police stations, 62 police posts and 40 fire brigade centres. There will be 22,000-24,000 personnel from police and paramilitary forces.KP Singh, DIG, Kumbh, says, “Apart from policing, UP Police will work as guide and facilitator for pilgrims. Soft-skill training is being imparted to all police officials.” Artificial intelligence for crowd management and surveillance will be used for the first time in Kumbh. This will help the police assess crowd density at a particular spot, which would help in deciding their next course of action. High-definition cameras will also be used to trace any vehicle at any time.Three types of software will be put to use.1. Crowd analytics for surveillance of entry/ exit points and bathing ghats. This will send advance information about a place that could get overcrowded.2. Facial recognition software to trace people with the help of a photograph.3. Number plate detection software to track the movement of a vehicle captured on any of the 1,150 cameras.For testing preparedness and response, police and security forces are conducting mock drills, simulating multiple scenarios: stampede, terror attack, drowning, bomb blast and biological attacks.Apart from bed and breakfast accommodation for visitors, luxury tents are being built. A 900 sq ft tent suite of Indraprastham City, with two bedrooms and a living room, could cost Rs 40,000 a night. A main attraction is a “personal Ganga ghat” with each tent. These luxury tents are pitched for the well-heeled during Kumbh 2019. Apart from Indraprastham, other tent cities are Kalp Vriksh, Kumbh Canvas and Vedic Tent City. Tents and dorms start from Rs 650.There are 13 participating akharas. Most of them are categorised based on their deity: Shiv or Vishnu.The Udaseen akhara is founded by Chandra Dev, son of Guru Nanak Kinnar Akhara — of transgender monastics —will participate for the first time in this Kumbh.Peshwai is the traditional procession of akhara members on elephants, horses and chariots: monks affiliated to a particular akhara tour the city before they arrive at Kumbh site.Each akhara has been allotted 45 minutes for the royal dip or shahi snan. Mahanirvani Akhara will take the first dip and Nirmal Akhara the last. Akhara Snan Ghat for shahi snan is being readied near the Sangam. Three prominent akharas have already reached the mela ground — Shri Panchdashnaam Juna Akhara, Shri Panchdashnaam Panchagni Akhara and Shri Panchdashnaam Aavahan Akhara.About 375 shops and 48 milk booths will be part of the festival. A food court with 40 stalls is being readied with cuisine from almost all states. Ecofriendly practices such as the use of jute bags and terracotta utensils are encouraged.11 temporary hospitals — one with 100 beds and the others with 30 beds each — with 170 doctors and 100 nurses are coming up. Over 100 ambulances and four air ambulances will be standing by for emergency.