Indians throng last day of Maha Kumbh festival that drew 663 million

Authorities added security and enforced traffic curbs for the last day after many visitors complained of massive crowds that have choked traffic in the area, leading to jams stretching for miles.

India has touted the Maha Kumbh, or Great Pitcher Festival, held once in 12 years, as a key religious event setting world records for the largest gathering of people.

As many as 15.3 million people bathed on Wednesday, said authorities in the state of Uttar Pradesh, home to the festival, taking the total figure of celebrants to more than 663 million, or nearly twice the population of the United States.

The last event in 2019 drew 240 million visitors, but this year’s event, signified by the term “maha,” or great, is rendered still more auspicious by a rare alignment of celestial bodies after 144 years.

Indians from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers to business tycoons and television and film actors have participated, along with international figures such as Chris Martin of British rock band Coldplay.

But a stampede last month, on the most auspicious day of the festival, killed dozens of people and injured several, marring authorities’ efforts to ensure it went off smoothly.

Devout Hindus believe the waters of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical, invisible Saraswati, which meet at Prayagraj, have the power to absolve them of sin.