New Delhi, Jan 31 (EFE).- The Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela surpassed the symbolic figure of 300 million holy baths since its beginning on Jan. 13 in northern India, according to data from the organizers, as the investigation into the deadly stampede continues.
A handout satellite image made available by Maxar Technologies shows large crowds along the banks of Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela festival at Sangam, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, 29 January 2025. EFE/EPA/MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES HANDOUT — MANDATORY CREDIT: SATELLITE IMAGE 2024 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES — THE WATERMARK MAY NOT BE REMOVED/CROPPED –HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
The number of bathers during the 19 days of the festival, which will end on Feb. 26, surpassed 300 million after more than 4 million were recorded during the first hours of Friday as of 8 am local time (02:30 GMT).
Hindu ascetic holy men, known as Naga Sadhus, prepare to take part in a sacred bathing ritual, or ‘Shahi Snan’, during the Kumbh Mela festival at Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati, in Prayagraj, northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, 29 January 2025. EFE/EPA/PRABHAT KUMAR VERMA
This colossal religious congregation, which is the largest human gathering on the planet, reached this symbolic figure as an investigation was underway over a stampede that killed at least 30 people and left 90 injured on Wednesday.
Hindu devotees gather near the site of a stampede during the Kumbh Mela festival near Sangam Ghat in Prayagraj, northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, 29 January 2025. A stampede took place early on 29 January during the Kumbh Mela religious festival at India’s Sangam Ghat Prayagraj worship site after barriers broke under the pressure of massive crowds, with dozens of casualties reported by local police. EFE/EPA/PRABHAT KUMAR VERMA
The day was considered one of the most auspicious for bathing and attracted more than 76 million pilgrims to the Uttar Pradesh city of Prayagraj, the site of the festival.
The stampede occurred in the early morning hours when barricades marking the bathing sites broke due to the huge crowd, police said.
According to beliefs, a bath at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers, sacred to Hinduism, allows devotees to purify their sins.
The number of visitors to the festival is usually on par with the number of bathers or slightly lower, since most of the faithful who attend the Kumbh Mela arrive, bathe, and leave on the same day, giving rise to huge caravans of pilgrims.
However, hundreds of thousands of people choose to stay in Prayagraj, so the authorities erected a temporary city on the river banks – made up of more than 160,000 shelters and 150,000 toilets – to accommodate them all.
Indian authorities estimate that the festival will receive some 450 million visitors by the time it concludes.
Attendance at the last edition of the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, held in 2013, was 100 million people. EFE
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