India

Maha Kumbh Traffic Chaos: Lakhs of Vehicles Flood Prayagraj

12 February, 2025

Lakhs of pilgrims have flocked to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh, causing severe traffic jams in the city over the past few days. There have been reports of kilometer-long traffic bottlenecks at numerous entry points to Prayagraj, with some worshippers stranded on the road for up to 30 hours.

Over the weekend, about 12 lakh vehicles arrived in Prayagraj, with an additional 4 million pilgrims heading for a holy dip at Sangam. The overwhelming flood of devotees created unprecedented traffic jams on all roadways leading to Prayagraj. Heavy traffic was also seen around Madhya Pradesh and Bihar's borders.

The authorities have designated the whole Kumbh area a 'no vehicle zone' prior to Maghi Purnima Snan on February 12 to handle the city's enormous traffic. According to government statistics, approximately 1.44 crore individuals take a holy bath each day.

Reason for the Traffic Jam

The severe traffic is primarily due to lakhs of pilgrims flocking to Kumbh for Mauni Amavasya on February 12. In a post on X, CM Yadav stated that food and lodging arrangements had been provided for the devotees who were stuck in Rewa district. Rewa is located 130 kilometers from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

What is happening in the Traffic Jam?

It is said that the traffic jam is ranging from 10 kms to 300 kms long, but has not been confirmed yet. According to people there, a lot of cars can be seen on all the highways leading towards the direction of Prayagraj.

Traffic jams were caused by the Sunday holiday, which made the situation even worse. People from adjacent areas intended to take a dip on Sunday and return in the evening, but were obliged to stay owing to a persistent traffic bottleneck.

On the routes that connected Prayagraj to Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Rewa, traffic was crawling for almost 25 kilometers. Arriving and outgoing pilgrims were left stranded for hours.

The leader of Samajwadi party, Akhilesh Yadav also criticized the Yogi Government of Uttar Pradesh for not responding to the matter of traffic jam which has caused a shortage of basic supplies and inconvenienced pilgrims attending the Maha Kumbh Mela.

Measure Taken by Authorities

Uttar Pradesh Police Chief Prashant Kumar stated that the unprecedented size of the gathering has tested the authorities' management capabilities. He quotes, “Mahakumbh 2025 is witnessing the largest congregation of humanity in history. With over 40 crore pilgrims having already taken a sacred dip at the Sangam and millions arriving each day, managing the unprecedented movement of people and vehicles is a challenge that no city, no administration, and no police force in the world has ever encountered before.”

Despite the bottleneck, police officers ranging from constables to senior officials are working frantically to keep traffic moving. “Managing this ocean of humanity is a Herculean task, and every police officer on duty is displaying unmatched dedication to making Mahakumbh 2025 a safe and seamless experience,” said the DGP.

Vehicles were stalled on Madhya Pradesh highways on Monday, with kilometre-long traffic jams in areas like Jabalpur, Seoni, Katni, Maihar, Satna, and Rewa. MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav asked devotees to refrain from travelling to Prayagraj for the next few days due to severe traffic.

Now, authorities are working harder to get everything back to normal. To decrease delays, local taxi, auto, and e-rickshaw drivers are adhering to a one-way traffic plan, while railway stations have put emergency crowd management measures into place. Despite the ongoing increase in pilgrims, these concerted efforts are intended to gradually restore traffic flow to almost normal levels.