The Maha Kumbh Mela witnessed the third ‘Amrit Snan’ on Monday, February 3, on the occasion of Basant Panchami, the first holy bathing ritual after the deadly stampede on the last key bathing day that killed at least 30 people. Tighter arrangements and protocol are in place to ensure an ‘incident-free’ ‘Amrit Snan’, with mela authorities and akharas deciding on a sequence in which the spiritual sects will take dip at the Sangam Nose, where the fatal crowd crush had happened last week.
Maha Kumbh Amrit Snan | Key points
Marking the third ‘Amrit Snan’ of the Mela, at the break of dawn several seers from across various ‘akharas’ indulged in the holy dip. By 4 am, 16.58 lakh devotees had taken the holy dip, with the Uttar Pradesh government expecting 5 crore devotees on Monday alone.
– The Hindu festival of Basant Panchami is celebrated on the first day of spring and falls on the fifth day of the month of Magha. It kickstarts Holi preparations in India and is a celebration of the goddess Saraswati.
– During the last ‘Amrit Snan’ event on Mauni Amavasya, a stampede caused 30 deaths and left 60 others injured. In light of the tragedy, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been personally inspecting preparations since Saturday.
– The UP government has reinforced security, medical resources and crowd management measures to ensure such an incident can be avoided.
The Maha Kumbh Mela, which is held once every 12 years, started on January 13, 2025 and will end on February 26.The remaining important ‘snan’ dates during the Maha Kumbh are on February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri).
Opposition disrupted both the houses of Parliament, where Budget Session is underway, on Monday when they demanded an immediate discussion on the Maha Kumbh Stampeded that had led to the death of 30 people.
“The opposition in Lok Sabha demands a discussion on the Maha Kumbh tragedy and asks the government to respond. Since this was not allowed, we continue to raise our voices,” Congress leader Manickam Tagore said.
Opposition MPs raised slogans like ‘Modi-Yogi down down’.
