The world's largest religious event kicks off in India, expected to attract a staggering 400 million people.. The Festival of the Holy Jug, or Maha Kumbh Mela, will take place in the state of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the river in the city of Prayagraj. CNN writes about this.

Every 12 years, the name of the festival bears the prefix "

In Prayagraj, devotees will take a bath in the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati - to cleanse their sins and take another step towards "

The Kumbh draws inspiration from Hindu mythology and the legend of demons and gods fighting over a jar containing the elixir of immortality.. During the battle, four drops from the jar fell on the Earth in Prayagraj, Nashik, Haridwar and Ujjain, where the festival is held alternately.

Prime Minister of India and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Narendra Modi invited people from all over the world to attend the festival, recognized by UNESCO in 2017 as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”.

Authorities are promoting the event not only as a religious gathering, but also as a cultural spectacle that has attracted Bollywood and Hollywood stars in the past..

On Sunday, Yogi Adityanath, the saffron-robed cleric-turned-chief minister from Uttar Pradesh known for his inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims, said millions of people had already "

Formerly known as Allahabad, Prayagraj was renamed in 2018. The name Allahabad was given to it by the Mughal ruler Akbar several centuries ago.. This decision was taken in recognition of the city's identity as a spiritual destination for Hindu pilgrims.

This year's festival took years to prepare and millions of dollars spent building facilities to accommodate the large number of visitors in Prayagraj, a city normally home to 6 million people..

Some 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets and 1,249 kilometers of water pipes were erected in a temporary tent city covering 4,000 hectares, roughly the size of 7,500 football fields.

In 2013, dozens of people were killed and injured in a stampede at a train station as pilgrims gathered in the city. Such deadly incidents at religious gatherings are not uncommon in India..

This year, authorities say Prayagraj has taken extra security measures to protect visitors, including a security ring with checkpoints throughout the city staffed by more than 1,000 police officers.

According to the central government, more than 2,700 artificial intelligence-powered CCTV cameras will be installed across the city, monitored by hundreds of experts at key locations..

The government added that aerial drones will provide surveillance from above and, for the first time, underwater drones capable of diving to depths of 100 meters will be deployed to provide 24-hour cover..

With a huge number of pilgrims expected to arrive in the region by train, authorities have launched 3,000 special trains and 13,100 rail routes.

According to the Uttar Pradesh government, fourteen new flyovers and underpasses, 11 new road corridors, 7,000 buses, 550 shuttle buses, seven new bus stops and 30 pontoon bridges have also been built to improve connectivity..

The festival will end on February 26.

Recall that in the summer of 2024 in India, 121 people died in a stampede at a meeting with a popular preacher.. In total, more than 250 thousand gathered to listen to him, and when the religious celebrity arrived at the place, the crowd rushed to him.