Indians throng last day of Maha Kumbh festival that drew 663 million

NEW DELHI - Large crowds turned out in northern India on Feb 27 for the last day of the six-week Maha Kumbh Mela that drew a total of 663 million people seeking absolution of their sins by taking a dip in waters that devout Hindus consider sacred.

Television images showed security officials trying to direct thousands of visitors around barricades in the temporary township set up in Prayagraj, close to the banks where three holy rivers meet.

“There is a huge rush because it is the last day for all devotees to take a ‘holy dip’,” said Rahul, a devotee who gave only his first name.

“Thankfully, we were lucky enough to take a holy dip today.”

Authorities added security and enforced traffic curbs for the last day after many visitors complained of massive crowds that have choked traffic in the area, leading to jams stretching for kilometres.

India has touted the Maha Kumbh, or Great Pitcher Festival, held once in 12 years, as a key religious event setting world records for the largest gathering of people.

As many as 15.3 million people bathed on Feb 26, said authorities in the state of Uttar Pradesh, home to the festival, taking the total figure of celebrants to more than 663 million, or nearly twice the population of the United States.

The last event in 2019 drew 240 million visitors, but this year’s event, signified by the term ‘maha’, or great, is rendered still more auspicious by a rare alignment of celestial bodies after 144 years.

Indians from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers to business tycoons and television and film actors have participated, along with international figures such as Chris Martin of British rock band Coldplay.

But a stampede in January, on the most auspicious day of the festival, killed dozens