After the deadly stampede on Mauni Amavasya, all eyes are on the next Amrit Snan at the Maha Kumbh on Vasant Panchami on February 3. The Uttar Pradesh government, the organiser, is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a hassle-free pilgrimage with a new traffic map and strict security measures.
Traffic management remains in focus as reports claim lakhs of vehicles and even more pilgrims were left stranded on roads leading to Prayagraj after dozens of deaths were reported in a stampede on the night of January 28 and January 29. Local media reported that scores of pilgrims from different parts of the country had to spend several nights without access to food, water, and sanitation facilities due to traffic curbs.
Pilgrims enter Prayagraj mainly from seven routes i.e. Sultanpur-Pratapgrah, Lucknow-Bareilly, Kaushambi route, Rewa route, Mirzapur-Sonbhadra, Varanasi, and Jaunpur. There are separate traffic plans for each of these routes during Amrit Snan.
Authorities have set up a total of 102 parking areas for passenger vehicles in Prayagraj district and the mela area.
The entry of private vehicles will be prohibited in the Maha Kumbh area in view of heavy tourist footfall on February 2 and 3, which leaves travel by public modes of transport as a viable option.
The Uttar Pradesh government has deployed more than 7,300 buses for ferrying passengers to Kumbh. However, its ticketing system is not free from woes. In this digital age when people prefer online booking of tickets, the UP State Road Transport Corporation’s (UPSRTC) online enquiry and ticketing system appears broken – leaving lakhs of commuters scrambling for authoritative information.
UPSRTC’s official online ticketing platforms as well as private ticket booking apps such as Redbus and Ixigo show erroneous information regarding the availability of buses between Prayagraj and many districts in UP.
On UPSRTC’s official platforms UP-RAAHI app and website onlineupsrtc[.]co[.]in, India Today found no buses were available for Prayagraj from more than a dozen districts, including Gonda, Balrampur, Ballia, Jhansi, Basti, Meerut, Pratapgrah, Ballia, Bahraich, Mirzapur, Azamgarh, and Unnao on February 2, a day before the Amrit Snan. Only a few buses were available from some big depots like Ayodhya, Sultanpur, and Ghazipur.
In reality, however, buses were available from almost all major depots for Kumbh.
Contrary to the information shown on UPSRTC’s ticketing platforms, enquiry agents from several bus stations in UP i.e. Gonda, Ayodhya, Unnao, Varanasi, Azamgarh and Jhansi told India Today that numerous buses were being run for Kumbh pilgrims daily.
“A bus leaves for Prayagraj every 10 minutes. There are so many buses for pilgrims,” said Manoj Tipathi from Ayodhya Dham bus depot. The UPSRTC website shows only seven buses on February 2.
Similarly, UP-RAAHI shows only two buses from Varanasi. However, a UPSRTC employee who introduces himself as Ramanand Singh from the Varanasi Cantt bus depot said an estimated number of 50 buses leave for the Sangam city per day.
The lack of authoritative information regarding government buses has left tech-savvy passengers scrambling for other options, including taking their private vehicles to Kumbh Mela.