A sea of vehicles, stretching up to 300 kilometers, transformed roads leading to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj into parking lots, with lakhs of pilgrims eager to attend the world’s largest religious gathering finding themselves stranded in their cars on Sunday, hundreds of kilometers away from the fair site.
The unprecedented congestion, which netizens called the “world’s biggest traffic jam,” reportedly extended up to 200-300 km involving vehicles of pilgrims headed for Maha Kumbh mela via Madhya Pradesh and prompted the police there to stop traffic in different districts on Sunday, leaving people stuck on roads for several hours.
A day earlier, hundreds of vehicles heading for Prayagraj were stopped in different areas in Madhya Pradesh due to the heavy traffic and to avoid overcrowding,
Stopping vehicular traffic in different districts in Madhya Pradesh, police asked people to find a safe shelter.
Police vehicles in Katni district made announcements that traffic has been stopped till Monday, while Maihar Police asked vehicles to return towards Katni and Jabalpur and stay there.
“It is impossible to move towards Prayagraj today as there is a traffic jam of 200-300 kilometres,” the PTI report quoted police as saying.
Several videos on social media show massive queues of thousands of cars and trucks on roads across Katni, Jabalpur, Maihar and Rewa districts in MP.
‘Probably the biggest traffic jam in the world’
Eyewitnesses claimed huge traffic jams across a 250-km stretch from Katni to MP-UP borders at Chakghat in Rewa district.
Commuters took to social media over the congestion, with a user saying, “Traffic Jam of 15 KM before Jabalpur …still 400 KM to prayagraj. Please read traffic situation before coming to Mahakumbh!”.
Another user wrote in a post on X at around 4:30 am on Monday, “Caught in probably the biggest traffic jam (15-20km) in the world at Kumbh…Prayagraj is completely gridlocked.”
“Moved ~5 kms in 5 hours, by this time I should have been in Lucknow. Atrocious traffic management, had to cancel my flight ticket and book another at double,” the post read.
In-charge Inspector General of Police (Rewa zone) Saket Prakash Pandey said the Sunday rush led to traffic jams.
He said the situation is likely to ease in a couple of days.
Pandey said the MP Police is allowing vehicles to move after coordinating with the Prayagraj administration.
Eyewitnesses claimed vehicles were stuck in traffic jams for 48 hours. “It is taking almost 10-12 hours to cover a 50-km distance,” a man said.
Police said they are stopping vehicles at different spots to prevent crowding at MP-UP borders.
Meanwhile, the Rewa district administration stated that the number of pilgrims heading to Prayagraj is not decreasing, creating a constant pressure of vehicles on the Rewa-Prayagraj route.
As crowds increased beyond Chakghat, vehicles were stopped there and other places, the Rewa district office stated in a release.
An official said a large number of vehicles are lining both sides of the highway going to Prayagraj.
Rewa district collector Pratibha Pal said they are coordinating with the Prayagraj administration.
She said vehicles had been held up because of heavy crowds on the highway.
“Arrangements are being made for the safe stay, food, and water for people (stuck in traffic jams),” she added.
MP BJP president VD Sharma urged the party workers to help pilgrims going to Maha Kumbh passing from their areas.
“All the workers are requested to help the devotees going to Maha Kumbh through their areas in every possible way. Make arrangements for their food and accommodation if needed. Take special care that the devotees do not face any inconvenience. Let us play our role in this Maha Yagya,” Sharma tweeted on X.
The Maha Kumbh fair, which commenced on January 13 and will conclude on February 26, has drawn over 40 crore visitors from across the country and abroad for the sacred ‘Snan’ or holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati.