Even before midnight, devotees from different walks of life and parts of the country began to pour into Sangam city to take holy dip on Mahashivratri, the great night of Lord Shiva and the last bathing day in the one-and-a-half-month-long Kumbh Mela.
Till Monday evening, more than 1 crore devotees had taken a holy dip in the Sangam area, officials said.
The bathing ghats brimmed with colour in the morning. Late-night showers in parts of the holy city failed to dampen the spirit of the pilgrims. As the sun came out, devotees enthusiastically greeted the sun, while some offered obeisance to the Sun God with traditional 'Yoga asanas'.
"Till evening, as many as 1.10 crore devotees have taken a dip in the Sangam area. With Mahashivratri's snaan, so far more than 24.05 crore devotees have taken a dip during this year's Kumbh," Kumbh MelaAdhikari Vijay Kiran Anand told PTI.
Till March 3, the number of devotees who had taken the dip during the Kumbh stood at 22.95 crore, an UP government official said.
As the visitors were heading towards the ghats, chants of 'Har Har Mahadev' rang through the air, albeit the occasional police announcement.
Apart from other information, the police told the crowds about the lost-and-found centre, which could also be seen from a distance by the installed, floating gas-balloon.
A delegation from West Bengal kept all its members together by telling them to follow the large saffron-coloured flags.
A group of visitors from Ajmer used rope barriers to keep its members together.
"Despite showers, my friends and I walked towards the bathing ghats and took a dip," said Dhananjay Singh, who came from Lucknow, adding, "I consider it (the rain) to be a propitious sign."
Speaking to reporters, Rana said, "When I was taking a boat ride after the dip, a sudden shower of petals fell on boatman. His spontaneous reaction was 'waah Yogi ji' (UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath). I was pleasantly overwhelmed by this."
Ashutosh Varshney, an astrologer who has set up a camp in Sector-6 of Kumbh Nagri, said, "Mahashivratri marks the culmination of the Kumbh and the prominent bathing days. This year, it fell on a Monday, the day dedicated to Lord Shiva, after a long time."
The Guinness World Records certificate read, "The most contributions to a handprint painting in eight hours was achieved by Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh (India) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh India on March 1, 2019."
A UP government official said, "The attempt in Prayagraj involving 500 buses covered more than 3.2 kilometres. It was held at NH-19 between Sahson toll plaza and Nawabganj toll plaza. This demonstrates the traffic plan, which worked very well during the mela with 20,000 police personnel being deployed."
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