The Mahakumbh Mela 2025 starts today with its first Snan ( holy bath) on the banks of the holy river Ganga, in Prayagraj. Mahakumbh is expected to attract 45 crore people over a period of one and a half months. These visitors have entered Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela from across the country and also from different parts of the world. Among them will be Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs.
On Sunday, a day before the Kumbh officially begins, officials estimate that around 50 lakh pilgrims gathered for Snan at the Sangam, which is the meeting point of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.
Preparations to shower over 20 quintals of rose petals on pilgrims on all major Snan days have been made using choppers. The Uttar Pradesh government’s horticulture department will start showering petals from Monday over an area of four thousand hectares. Alongside, the Tourism department has also announced the start of a special helicopter ride on Monday. The helicopter ride will be priced at Rs. 1,296.
All the 13 akharas that take part in Kumbh have successfully entered the Snan site along with their processions. There will be five major Snans, with the first one being the Paush Poornima on Monday. This will be followed by three rituals known as Shahi or Amrit Snan, scheduled for Makar Sankranti on Tuesday. Subsequently, on the 29th of January and the third of February, the other two important Snans called the Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami will be hosted, respectively.
Another major Snan will be on the Magh Purnima, on 12th January. On February 26., the Mahakumbh will be concluded with the last major Snan on Maha Shivratri.
The national and state-level disaster relief fund teams are deployed on 700 flagged boards to ensure the safety of all the pilgrims. Arrangements for remote life-saving buoys are also in place for emergencies, said officials.
 on the banks of the holy river Ganaga, in Prayagraj.){kind=link}