Mahakumbh 2025: How will the Ganga fare?

The largest religious congregation on the planet has an environmental angle that's often brushed aside to make way for devotion

Mahakumbh — When pilgrimage puts a river at altar

The flowers and petals from the religious ceremonies are dumped into the river making it difficult for the aquatic life to survive. Photographs by Avikal Somvanshi/CSE

Published on:

18 Oct 2024, 1:27 pm

Touted to be the biggest religious gathering on Earth, the city of Prayagraj is all set to witness the Mahakumbh fair which attracts devotees and travellers from across the country.

The humongous gathering often strains the rivers which the authorities try to manage by efficiently administering the fair.

The sheer scale of the event can be gauged from the fact that the congregation is the only human gathering that can be spotted from the outer space.

The Mahakumbh fair which is held once in 12 years, holds the record for having a footfall of 120 million people in 2013.

The upcoming fair in 2025 is expected to break this record.

Dumping organic matter into the river causes the aquatic oxygen to be diverted for decompostion which compromises the aquatic life dependent on the much needed oxygen.