300-km jam, lakhs stranded on way to Maha Kumbh

A sea of vehicles stretching up to 300 km turned the roads leading to the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj into a massive parking lot, leaving lakhs of devotees stranded for hours, unable to reach the world’s largest religious gathering.

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The unprecedented congestion forced many to remain stuck in their vehicles, some even hundreds of kilometres away from the Kumbh site on Sunday and Monday.

Airfares touch Rs 53,000, Parl told

The issue of high airfares to Prayagraj was raised in the RS on Monday, with the Civil Aviation Minister saying it was due to high demand. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the one-way airfare from Chennai to Prayagraj was Rs 53,000, from Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi Rs 47,500, and from Bengaluru Rs 51,000.

A day earlier, heavy traffic heading towards Prayagraj had already led to police stopping hundreds of vehicles in different areas of Madhya Pradesh to prevent overcrowding. The extreme bottleneck, which social media users dubbed the “world’s biggest traffic jam”, reportedly extended across 200 to 300 km, affecting pilgrims travelling through Madhya Pradesh.

The situation prompted the state police to halt traffic across multiple districts, leaving travellers stuck for long hours on highways.

Taking a swipe at the Uttar Pradesh government, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav blasted the administration’s handling of the event, urging the authorities to address the plight of stranded devotees.

He highlighted specific trouble spots, mentioning major jams at Nawabganj, 30 km before entering Prayagraj from the Lucknow side, a bottleneck at Gauhania, 16 km before Rewa Road, and a traffic snarl extending 12-15 km towards Varanasi.

Undeterred by challenges, devotees thronging the Maha Kumbh are also heading towards Kashi and Ayodhya. According to government data, an average of 1.44 crore people are taking a holy bath at the Maha Kumbh every day.

Due to the heavy rush outside the Prayagraj railway station, the Northern Railways' Lucknow division has temporarily closed it for passenger movement from 1:30 pm on February 9 to midnight on February 14, an official statement said. However, eight other railway stations in the Maha Kumbh area continue to operate regular and special trains.

As per government figures, over 44 crore devotees have taken a dip at the Triveni Sangam till February 9. With an average of 1.44 crore people taking a dip daily, the authorities are managing an unprecedented surge of pilgrims. In Varanasi, a large number of devotees returning from the Kumbh are arriving to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple, leading to massive crowds across the city.