Haridwar:
Ahead of the last royal bath on April 14, the Uttarakhand government had asked officials to make proper arrangements for the pilgrims.
Reviewing arrangements ahead of the fourth and last royal bath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank directed officials to arrange city buses in sufficient number at Haridwar to ferry pilgrims from parking spots to the bathing ghats.
In this regard, he also asked the Principal Secretary to shift the General Manager of Transport to Haridwar till the Mahakumbh is over, an official release said.
Considering the huge rush of pilgrims, traffic regulations have already been put in place.
Administration has deployed 25 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary, 20 companies of Rapid Police Force, 10 companies of Rapid Action Force and 10 companies of Indo-Tibetan Border Police along with the regular police force at the mela area.
The three-month long Mahakumbh mela that began on January 14 would culminate on April 14.
40 lakh pilgrims take dip in GangaNearly 40 lakh pilgrims on Tuesday took a holy dip in the river Ganga here on the occasion of Baisakhi as the three-month-long Mahakumbh mela draws to a close with the last royal bath scheduled for Wednesday.
"Around 40 lakh pilgrims have so far taken bath in the river Ganga and the number of devotees is expected to rise," DIG Kumbh Mela Alok Sharma said.
No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere, Sharma added.
Har-Ki-Pauri and other bathing ghats in Haridwar and Rishikesh were flooded with pilgrims, while police personnel were helping the aged and handicapped.
The three-month-long mela which began on January 14 with Makar Sankranti, would culminate on April 14.