Prayagraj: Hundreds and thousands of devotees, seers, pilgrims and tourists on Tuesday flocked to Sangam – the confluence of three holy rivers - Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati - to take a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of "Maghi Purnima".
The officials expect over a crore of devotees to participate in the fifth royal bath of the Kumbh Mela this year.
Prayagraj: Devotees at #KumbhMela2019 offer prayers on the occasion of Maghi Purnima today. pic.twitter.com/87Z08puPqW
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Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the heavy rush of people that started arriving in Kumbhnagar here since Monday night, said Vijay Kiran Anand, officer-in-charge of the Kumbh.
He said there were 96 watch towers placed across the Mela area along with 440 CCTV cameras maintaining a round-the-clock vigil.
Security has been beefed up following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, a police official said.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kumbh, K.P. Singh said that the "Maghi Purnima" holy dip was also crucial for the security as thousands of devotees who had taken a one-month-long `Kalp Vaas` will be returning on Tuesday.
Many special trains and buses of the Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Corporation (UPSRTC) have been deployed into service for their homebound journey.