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The Ardh Kumbh Mela, scheduled to be held in Uttarakhand's Haridwar in 2027, will feature a total of 10 major bathing festivals, including three 'amrit' (royal) baths, the mela administration announced on Tuesday. While declaring the dates for the Ardh Kumbh baths, Mela Officer Sonika Singh stated that during the four-month-long mela - spanning from January to April 2027 - the first bathing festival will take place on January 14 (Makar Sankranti); the second on February 6 (Mauni Amavasya); the third on February 11 (Basant Panchami); the fourth on February 20 (Magh Purnima); and the fifth on March 6 (Mahashivratri). Singh added that the sixth bathing festival of the Ardh Kumbh will occur on March 8 (Phalguna Amavasya); the seventh on April 7 (Nav Samvatsar); the eighth on April 14 (Mesh Sankranti); the ninth on April 15; and the final bathing festival on April 20 (Chaitra Purnima). Singh further noted that, among these dates, the baths scheduled for March 6 (Mahashivratri), March 8 .
Ahead of the Ardh Kumbh scheduled next year in Uttarakhand, the Haridwar administration has proposed relocating all raw meat shops operating within the city's urban limits to Sarai village on the outskirts. Haridwar Mayor Kiran Jaiswal told PTI that a proposal to this effect has been drafted and will be presented at the Municipal Corporation Board meeting on April 6. According to the Haridwar Municipal Corporation bylaws, the sale and consumption of meat, liquor and eggs are already prohibited within a five-kilometre radius of Har Ki Pauri, the city's main bathing ghat on the Ganga. Jaiswal said all shops selling raw meat within the urban area would be shifted to Sarai village once the proposal is approved by the board. She added that although the Municipal Corporation has issued licences for only 20 meat shops, many more are operating illegally in the city. "This not only creates unhygienic conditions but also aggravates the problem of stray dogs," the mayor said, adding that onc
In view of the forthcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela, the Nashik Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Development Authority has given its administrative approval for the expansion of the Nashik (Ozar) airport, officials have said. The chairman of the Authority and divisional commissioner Dr Praveen Gedam has directed that the airport expansion work be completed before March 2027, an official release said on Wednesday. The airport is located about 20 km from Nashik in the Ozar area. It is maintained by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). A meeting of the Kumbh authority was held on Wednesday, during which the administrative approval was given to construct a new integrated terminal building along with ancillary works at an estimated cost of Rs 556 crore. A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the state government and HAL for the airport expansion. The expansion will raise the passenger traffic capacity of the airport from 300 per hour to 1,000 passengers per hour, the release ...
"Sounds of Kumbha", a spiritual album inspired by the Mahakumbha festival and presented by singer-composer Siddhant Bhatia, has been nominated for the 68th Grammy Awards in the Best Global Music Album category. The nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards were announced last week. Commissioned by the Uttar Pradesh government as a cultural initiative, the album has been produced in partnership with Network18 and HistoryTV18, and is globally distributed by Universal Music India. The 12-track project, featuring over 50 artists from India and abroad, aims to capture the spirit of the Mahakumbha, the mega religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj that drew over 60 crore pilgrims during its 45-day run in January and February this year. Described by critics as a sonic memoir of the Mahakumbha, the album blends live field recordings from Prayagraj, ancient mantras and contemporary compositions by Bhatia and SoulTrax Studios in New Delhi, a press release said. It also incorpora
Preparations for the 2027 Kumbh Mela in Nashik are progressing at a slower pace than anticipated, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday, describing it as an event of "faith and technology". Speaking at a programme of CII Young Indians in Nashik, Fadnavis acknowledged the challenges in organising the large-scale event but expressed confidence in overcoming them. The chief minister noted that while work on infrastructure is currently behind schedule, the situation is improving. "We started preparations for the Kumbh Mela last year. If we had started the work in 2020, we would have been in a more comfortable position today," he said. Fadnavis credited the efficiency of the team working on the event that has been following a reverse planning strategy and assured that despite the delays, progress was being made, drawing from the experience of the successful Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. "In 2015, Nashik hosted the Kumbh Mela, and after many years, no fatalities were ..
"My uncle had saved his sister by pulling her out of the river waters by her hair as she slipped below amid the commotion," says city-based advocate Niranjan Lal recalling the 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede stories he had heard from his aunt who survived it. This was the first Kumbh in Allahabad after Independence, and the tragic incident took place on February 3 on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. According to official estimates, several hundred had died in the stampede. Seventy-one years later, a stampede took place on January 29, again on Mauni Amavasya day as a massive crowd sought to enter into the Triveni Sangam waters for the 'amrit snan'. Lal, 67, and his wife were camping in a Swiss cottage in Sector 6 of Mahakukbh Nagar, when they got a call from their son at home late night, cautioning them not to go to the Sangam due to the stampede. "We didn't step out from the camp until the sun came out, and at around 11 am, we went to Dashashwamedh Ghat on Ganga, located near Sector 6. The
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that 62 crore devotees have come to the Maha Kumbh so far and the gathering of such a large number of people during a certain period is in itself "one of the rarest events of the century". Welcoming all the guests at the Unicorn Companies Conclave in Agra, Chief Minister Yogi said, "I can call it the Unicorn Maha Kumbh of the startup world. There is an attraction towards the Maha Kumbh at this time." He said, "This is important for me. Today, I have come to Braj Bhoomi, behind which there has been a spiritual and cultural background. It has influenced India's civilisation and culture for a long time.' Chief Minister Adityanath while talking about the devotees coming to the Maha Kumbh this time, said that so far 62 crore devotees have come to the event. 'I think that in any event in the world, whether it is spiritual or for any tourism purpose, the gathering of such a large number of people during a certain period of time i