The Maha Kumbh Festival is held every 12 years at the banks of the Sangam where the Ganges meet with Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati.
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00:00For the millions who descend upon the world's largest pop-up city of Mahakumbnagar, these
00:11pontoon bridges and sandy riverbed pathways are roads to moksha and salvation, a break
00:17from the cycle of life and death.
00:21Devotees from far-flung corners of India arrive at Sangam, where India's mighty Ganges meets
00:26Yamuna and mythical river Saraswati, a confluence considered to be one of the holiest sites
00:32of the country.
00:34For the devotees, the pilgrimage involves a simple act of taking a dip in Sangam waters,
00:39which Hindus believe possess divine properties when planets are in a specific formation every
00:44twelve years.
00:49Mahakumbnagar in Allahabad city is a no-vehicle zone, and pilgrims walk up to 30 km to reach
00:56Sangam waters, a brave crowd density that reaches unprecedented levels during the main
01:02bathing days.
01:06On February 10 alone, around 35 million people were present during a 24-hour period.
01:13Officials estimate that around 100 million will visit the festival, making it the world's
01:18largest gathering of humanity.
01:20While pilgrims come and go during the Mahakumb festival, the Naga sadhus or ascetics who
01:26leave their retreats in the Himalayan foothills spend weeks in this density during the festival.
01:33These ascetics are both feared and revered by pilgrims who seek their blessings for abundance
01:38and prosperity.
01:40Managing this sea of humanity is a humongous task, and around 30,000 policemen and over
01:46100,000 officials are deployed to this density, which spreads over 2,000 hectares.
01:56The mass bathing pilgrimage of Mahakumb began on January 15 and will end on March 10, when
02:03officials will begin dismantling the estimated 700,000 tents, electricity grids, sanitation
02:10networks, police stations, hospitals and much more.
02:15All that was built must be taken down before the mighty Ganges begins to reclaim the riverbed
02:20in the coming months leading up to the monsoons.