Prayagraj: 'Build back better' technique being followed to tackle Mahakumbh crowd, says DGP Prashant Kumar

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 12 : Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar on Wednesday, elaborated on the arrangements made for the fifth snan -- Magh Purnima snan, in Mahakumbh, and said that the lessons were taken from the mishap that took place during Mauni Amavasya.
Further, he stated that the management technique of 'Build back better' was implemented and feedbacks from the community were also taken to ensure better arrangements for the devotees.
Speaking to ANI, the DGP said "This is the 5th snan of Maha Kumbh 2025... The Snan of Maha Shivratri will take place after this... A mishap took place on Mauni Amavasya. We learnt a lesson from it and implemented new techniques. There is a management technique of 'Build back better'...We took the community's feedback to improve ourselves and implemented new techniques."
Further, he said that 46 to 47 crore people have visited the Mahakumbh until now and more than 1.3 crore devotees took a dip on the Magh Purnima.
"More than 1.3 crore devotees took a dip till 10 am today. Approximately 46 to 47 crore people have visited the MahaKumbh till now. We are also focused on places like Chitrakoot, Mirzapur Vindhyanchal temple, Vishwanath corridor and Ayodhya because of the huge number of devotees visiting there," he further stated.
The DGP also said that a war room was built in Lucknow to get a live feed of Prayagraj Kshetra and further stated that the live feed of the area was received in ICCC.
"We have made a war room in Lucknow where get a live feed of the Prayagraj Kshetra... More than 2500 cameras are active. We receive the live feed in the ICCC in Prayagraj... New crowd management techniques have given positive results and things are running smoothly even amid the huge crowd," he stated.
Speaking about the stampede that took place in Mahakumbh, the DGP stated that it was not an administrative lapse but occurred due to the overwhelming response of the people.
"It is not an administrative lapse but an overwhelming response of the people... Earlier people were coming by buses and trains, now they are coming by their cars. The mode of transport of the people has changed. A lot of people did not come in the beginning thinking that now there would be less crowd but Kumbh gained so much popularity that people from all over the world are still coming here... On main Snan days, more than 5 lakh people are travelling by around 400 trains," the DGP said.
He added that fake videos were being circulated on social media and were being claimed to be of Mahakumbh.
"Some people circulated videos of other places claiming them to be from Kumbh. A video of a police lathi charge was circulated but it was from another place...We have registered an FIR against such people," he said.
The total number of pilgrims visiting the Mela grounds has reached 38.83 million, while Kalpwasis staying in the area has crossed 10 million.
According to officials, the cumulative number of devotees who have performed snan since the beginning of the festival has now exceeded 462.5 million as of February 11, 2025. The footfall is expected to increase further as the mela progresses, with more auspicious bathing dates lined up in the coming days.
Mahakumbh 2025, which commenced on Paush Purnima (January 13, 2025), is the world's largest spiritual and cultural gathering, attracting devotees from across the globe. The grand event will continue till Mahashivratri on February 26.