Mahakumbh Nagar: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the officials to ensure a smooth Magh Purnima on Wednesday.

Over the past week, the influx of devotees to Prayagraj has increased significantly from all directions. Along with public transport, a large number of private vehicles are also arriving, and this number is expected to rise further. In light of this, a well-structured traffic and crowd management plan must be implemented.

The CM asked to ensure parking facilities at Prayagraj’s borders should be operated efficiently. The available parking capacity of over 5 lakh vehicles must be fully utilised. While providing necessary support to children, women, and the elderly, no vehicle should be allowed to enter the fair premises in violation of regulations. Shuttle buses should be used as required. Devotees must be encouraged to follow the designated parking system and treated cooperatively and respectfully.

He asked to ensure that no long queues of vehicles should be allowed to form on the roads, and traffic congestion must be prevented at all costs. Strict measures should be taken to ensure that vehicles are not parked on the roads and vehicular movement remains continuous and unobstructed.

The District Magistrates of all districts sharing a border with Prayagraj must maintain constant coordination with the Prayagraj administration to ensure smooth vehicle movement. “Mutual coordination to prevent congestion in the fair area and barricading should be installed where necessary. There should be no traffic jams due to toll collection,” he said.

Railway stations in Prayagraj are witnessing devotees returning home after taking a holy dip. “It is our responsibility to ensure their safe journey. Continuous operation of trains should be ensured by maintaining coordination with the Railways, and additional Transport Corporation buses should be deployed for better passenger movement,” the CM added.

Cleanliness is the hallmark of Prayagraj Mahakumbh and must be maintained continuously. Devotees offer flowers and garlands to Ganga after bathing in the Sangam. He said machines have been provided for cleaning, and their use should be ensured for continuous sanitation. Adequate water availability in Ganga and Yamuna must also be maintained.

Further, to ensure the safety and convenience of devotees, 28 administrative officers of ADM and SDM levels, along with several police officers, have been deployed. Their services are utilised as needed, with police officers specifically assigned to traffic management.

Traffic in the Mahakumbh Mela area should continue uninterrupted. Unnecessary restrictions on movement must be avoided, and crowd congestion or traffic jams must be prevented. “Street vendors occupying the roads must be relocated to designated open areas to maintain smooth vehicle movement. The police must do continuous patrolling on all routes leading to Prayagraj. Cranes and ambulances must be readily available. Traffic should not be obstructed on any major route, including Rewa Marg, Ayodhya-Prayagraj, Kanpur-Prayagraj, Fatehpur-Prayagraj, Lucknow-Pratapgarh-Prayagraj, and Varanasi-Prayagraj. All return routes from Prayagraj should remain open and functional at all times,” the CM emphasised.