Maha Kumbh 2025 Live Updates: Flower petals showered on saints and seers, over 6.22 million devotees take holy dip during third 'Amrit Snan' on Basant Panchami

The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Monday demanded that Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Bachchan be arrested for claiming "bodies" of Kumbh stampede victims were thrown into the river. VHP media in-charge Sharad Sharma termed the SP Rajya Sabha MP's remarks as "unfortunate."

He said such a statement by an MP holding a high post "is going to create instability in the country."

"Jaya Bachchan should be arrested for spreading sensation by giving false and untrue statements," Sharma said.

Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Maharaj lauded the services of Adani family at the Mahakumbh.

"May God continue to bless them (Adani family) with such capabilities so that they can so can continue doing good work. I am very happy," the Shankaracharya said.

"...It is said that the best wealth is the wealth that goes in donation...Adani family offered the 'aahuti' of food, I think that they have performed a big 'yagya'. When we perform 'yagya', we offer 'aahuti' to the deities. Those who (devotees at Maha Kumbh) are here, consider them deities too," the religious leader said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday paid tributes to "thousands" who died in the January 29 Maha Kumbh stampede, triggering an uproar from the treasury benches even as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked him to retract the statement. Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, was quick to add that "this is my estimate (and) if this is not right you (the government) should tell what is the truth". He said he was ready to be corrected.

"I did not say 'thousands' to blame anyone. But how many people died, give that information at least. I will apologise if I am wrong. They should give figures how many died, how many are missing," he said.

There was a stampede during the Amrit Snan on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya on January 29. According to the figures provided by the Uttar Pradesh government, 30 people were killed and 60 others were injured.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Shri Sudesh Dhankhar participated in a holy dip at the Sangam. The sacred ritual was conducted under the guidance of Manmadhav Gaudeshwar Vaishnavacharya Pundrik Goswami Ji Maharaj, with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in attendance at this monumental spiritual congregation.

The Vice President and his wife performed prayers at the sacred meeting point of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers, led by the distinguished Vaishnava spiritual leader, Pundrik Goswami Ji Maharaj, who is respected for his extensive knowledge of Vedic teachings. The sacred dip at Maha Kumbh, an ancient practice believed to purify the soul and receive divine grace, was observed alongside millions of faithful participants in this grand ceremonial gathering.

Amrit Abhijaat, Principal Secretary Urban Development UP, said on preparations made on Basant Panchami, “We learned from the last experience. We were facing difficulties in disposing waste materials like bottles, flowers, clothes, or sleepers through machines that people leave behind. Now, we have deployed people who are collecting the waste manually. Mela administration has received a good workforce in terms of monitoring. Apart from this, street vendors have been allotted specific areas.”

As Amrit Snan is going on at Sangam in Prayagraj on the occasion of 'Basant Panchami', DIG Maha Kumbh Vaibhav Krishna says, "Our crowd management has been good, you can see it. There is no pressure point, no incident has been reported. Our deployment is at all the pressure points. Amrit Snan has been going on smoothly. There is a SOP for pontoon bridges, we operate it accordingly, we have streamlined it. We hope Amrit Snan to conclude by 5 pm."

The Prayagraj district magistrate has declared a local holiday for government offices on Monday to maintain law and order amid the large influx of devotees for the Basant Panchami 'Snan.'

Citing the continuous arrival of millions of pilgrims for the holy bath at Triveni Sangam, the order states: "It is hereby informed that on the occasion of the main bathing festival of Basant Panchami, on February 3, due to the large crowd of devotees and bathers and traffic restrictions, a local holiday has been declared for government offices in Prayagraj district to maintain peace and law and order."

Additional Mela officer Vivek Chaturvedi says, "This is the third 'Amrit Snan'. It is also Basant Panchami and all the Akharas are coming to the ghat one by one and take holy dip in Sangam. Security is deployed everywhere and administration is monitoring the situation here continuously."

Shambhu Panch Agni Akhada's Swami Vishnu Maharaj says, "The atmosphere is great here and the value of Prayagraj has grown since the time all the Akharas and devotees came here. There is an atmosphere of prayer and austerity here. Arrangements made for everyone here are very nice."

Devotees take holy dip in the Ganga river at Varanasi on Basant Panchami.

A devotee said, "Today is Basant Panchami and fortunately it is also Monday. So, this is a very auspicious day. We have come from Madhya Pradesh to take a dip in the Ganga river and offer prayers to Kashi Vishwanath."

Mahant Ravindra Puri, President of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad, has urged devotees to bathe anywhere along the five-kos stretch of Prayagraj, from Phaphamau to Arail, as all areas hold spiritual significance.

The mela area is a No Vehicle Zone until February 5. 250 shuttle buses and 2,500 roadways buses have been deployed, with services every 15 minutes to manage the massive influx of pilgrims.

The Kumbh Command and Control Centre is overseeing operations with 3,000+ CCTV cameras, monitoring 25 sectors, 30 pontoon bridges, and sensitive barricades to ensure smooth crowd management.

The number of Kalpwasis—devotees observing month-long spiritual austerities—has exceeded 1 million, adding to the spiritual intensity of the Kumbh.

Since the commencement of Maha Kumbh 2025 on January 13, more than 340 million (34 crore) devotees have participated in the sacred bathing ritual, as per the Uttar Pradesh Information Department.

As of 4am on Monday, over 1.65 million devotees have taken a holy dip in the Triveni Sangam, marking the beginning of the third Amrit Snan on Basant Panchami.