page_title: Prayag Kumbh Mela
section_title: Independent India
hierarchical_section_title: Prayag Kumbh Mela / Independent India
caption_attribution_description: English: Hindu Pilgrims go over the Ganga river in the 2001 Kumbh-Mela
context_page_description: The Prayag Kumbh Mela is a Hindu festival mela held at Prayag Triveni Sangam – the meeting points of three rivers: the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Sarasvati – in Allahabad, India. The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass feedings of monks or the poor, and entertainment spectacle.
  The full Kumbh mela is held every 12 years, while an ardha mela is held after about 6 years at the same site. The 2013 Kumbh mela was the largest religious gathering in the world with almost 120 million visitors. An Ardh Kumbh Mela was held in early 2019. The next full Kumbh mela is scheduled for 2025. The exact date is based on the Hindu luni-solar calendar and is determined by the entry of planet Jupiter in Taurus zodiac and while the sun and the moon is in Capricorn.
  The Mela is one of the four fairs traditionally recognized as Kumbh Melas. An annual fair, known as Magh Mela, has been held at Prayag Triveni sangam since ancient times. The site, its sacredness, bathing pilgrimage and the annual festival is mentioned in the ancient Puranas and the epic Mahabharata.
context_section_description: Kumbh Mela, 1954
  Around 800 people were killed in the 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede on 3 February 1954. Around 5 million pilgrims had visited the festival that year.
  Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2007
  More than 70 million people visited Ardh Kumbh Mela at Allahabad (Prayag) during a 45-day period.
  Kumbh Mela, 2013
  An estimated 120 million people visited Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013 in Allahabad over a two-month period, including over 30 million on a single day, on 10 February 2013 (the day of Mauni Amavasya).
  Prayagraj Kumbh 2019
  Around ₹2,500 crore will be allotted by the state government for the Ardh Kumbh 2019, over two times more than it had spent on the last Kumbh held in 2013. About 199 projects of 16 government departments are underway under four phases which includes a six-lane bridge over the Ganges and a four-lane railway over-bridge worth ₹275 crore. The Public Works Department has to execute projects worth ₹430 crore including building an inner ring road in the city. ₹210 crore would be spent on safe drinking water facilities and ₹60 crore to electrify the Kumbh area. Focus is also laid on solid waste management to ensure that Ganga water is not contaminated and putting up LED lights. Moreover, widening and beatification of 18 roads and 25 road crossings is being done with the deadline of October 2017.
caption: Procession of sadhus at the 2001 Kumbh Mela
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