One of the largest religious fairs in the world is underway and the prices are staggering

Millions of devout Hindus bathe in holy water as the world’s largest religious gathering begins in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Over the next six weeks, 400 million people are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Sacred Pitcher festival, on the banks of the river in the city of Prayagraj.

Every 12 years the festival carries the prefix “Maha,” which means good, as it is the largest gathering of the Kumbh Mela held every three years in one of the four cities.

In Prayagraj, devotees will bathe in the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three holy rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and the legendary Saraswati – to wash away their sins and take another step closer to “spiritual freedom.”

The Kumbh draws on Hindu mythology and the myth of demons and gods fighting for a pot containing the elixir of immortality. During the battle, four drops from the pitcher fell on Earth, Prayagraj, Nashik, Haridwar and Ujjain, holding the festival in turn.

Indian Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi has invited people from all over the world to attend the festival, recognized by UNESCO in 2017 as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”

Authorities are promoting the event not just as a religious gathering but a cultural spectacle that has in the past attracted Bollywood and Hollywood stars.

On Sunday, Yogi Adityanath, the saffron-wearing Uttar Pradesh priest-turned-minister known for his inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims, said millions of people have already “dipped in the holy waters of the Sangam.”

Formerly known as Allahabad, Prayagraj was renamed by Adityanath in 2018, a decision that was said to acknowledge the city’s identity as a spiritual destination for Hindu pilgrims.

The scrapping of the name Allahabad, given to the city by the Mughal emperor Akbar, was a symbolic move in line with Modi’s ambitions to transform India from a secular, pluralistic state into a Hindu nation.

This year’s festival took years of planning and millions of dollars to build facilities for the influx of tourists to Prayagraj, a city of 6 million people.

About 160,000 tents, 150,000 latrines and 776 kilometers (1,249-kilometer) of drinking water pipe were installed in the temporary tent city covering 4,000 hectares, the size of 7,500 football fields.

In 2013, scores of people were killed and injured in a stampede at a train station as local travelers gathered in the city. Such deadly incidents at religious gatherings in India are rare, often highlighting the lack of adequate crowd control measures and security measures.

This year, officials say additional security measures have been put in place in Prayagraj to protect visitors, including a security ring with checkpoints around the city with more than 1,000 police officers.

More than 2,700 security cameras powered by artificial intelligence will be placed around the city, monitored by hundreds of experts in key areas, according to the central government.

Aerial drones will provide surveillance from above and for the first time, underwater drones capable of diving 100 meters will be deployed to provide round-the-clock cover, the government added.

A large number of travelers are expected to travel to the region by train, so the authorities have added 3,000 special trains and 13,100 train services.

Fourteen new flyovers and underpasses, 11 new roads, 7,000 buses, 550 buses, seven new bus stops, and 30 bridges have also been added to improve connectivity, according to the Uttar Pradesh state government.

The festival ends on February 26.

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