KVT’s movable idol placed in Prayagraj mela area

Varanasi: While Kashi Vishwanath temple authorities placed the movable idol of Lord Vishwanath in the Magh mela area of Prayagraj, the district administration and police finalised plans to handle the crowd in case it reached Kashi, like the 2025 Maha Kumbh, from Prayagraj.The KV temple trust, Varanasi, completed the rituals of establishing Lord Vishwanath's movable idol in the form of Shri Kumbheshwar Mahadev at its camp in Sector-2, Sangam Upper Road, in the Magh mela area in Prayagraj on Friday. The temple's chief executive officer, Vishwa Bhushan Mishra said that all the rituals and aarti were performed by the priest of Shri Kumbheshwar Mahadev and Bade Hanuman temple, along with Magh mela authority officials. Daily rudrabhishek and bhog aarti of the deity will be performed there till the end of the fair. On Paush Purnima day, the mahant of Bade Hanumanji temple and mela authority officials will perform special worship of Baba and pray for the smooth completion of Magh mela. Meanwhile, commissioner of police, Mohit Agrawal and district magistrate, Satyendra Kumar organised a coordination meeting of police and district administrative officials on Friday evening to strengthen traffic, crowd control and overall security arrangements during Magh mela.In view of the possibility of a heavy crowd of devotees, either while going to Prayagraj or while returning from there, the officials identified the routes of their flow. This identification of the routes was done by keeping the pattern witnessed during Maha Kumbh 2025. The officials finalised the plans, including one-way traffic operation, deployment of additional police force and continuous monitoring.Special emphasis was laid on standard-compliant barricading on major routes, Ganga ghats and sensitive locations, surveillance from watchtowers, and ensuring continuous surveillance through CCTV and drones. Instructions were given for safe lane arrangements in bathing areas, changing rooms for women devotees, holding areas at railway stations and school premises, and well-organised parking arrangements inside and outside the city. Instructions were given to declare a no-vehicle zone in the mela and temple periphery in advance, allowing only essential services, and to ensure adequate force.