KUMBHNAGAR, (Allahabad), Jan 23 — Over two crore pilgrims have already reached Prayag Raj till today evening to take a holy dip at Sangam tomorrow on “Mauni Amavasya” at the Mahakumbh mela. Of these about 75 lakh pilgrims took a holy dip at Sangam to mark “Shiv Chauterdashi” today.

In view of the unprecedented rush of pilgrims the mela administration had imposed strict traffic regulations since morning. No vehicle is being allowed to enter the mela area. Barricades have been erected after every kilometre starting from the Allahabad junction.

The pilgrims are coming from as far as Orissa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, J&K, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, HP, West Bengal, besides UP and Bihar.

The rush of pilgrims could be gauged from the claim of a railway official who told TNS that all trains were running full.

The auspicious period of the “Mauni Amavasya” starts at 3.27 p.m. from today. The biggest bathing event starts in the morning but majority of the pilgrims would take a holy dip only after midnight. The Das Nami Akharas of sadhus would start taking baths from tomorrow morning. The first to take the holy dip would be the “Maha Nirvani Akhari”.

The pilgrims could be seen making offerings of rice, gur, mauli and thread.

Boatmen are the worst lot as they are not allowed to anchor their boats near the Quila ghat, which is nearest of Sangam. Although the administration has fixed charges for bringing boats but still pilgrims are being fleeced.

UNI adds: The biggest bathing event of the Kumbh would begin at 6.15 a.m. with the Naga Sanyasis taking the lead to the Sangam. The first “shahi snan” was held on Makar Sankranti on January 14.

As per the sequence of the “snan”, the sadhus of the sanyasi akharas would initiate the bathing ritual, followed by the Bairagi and the Udasin akharas.

Each of the 13 main akharas of sadhus would be accompanied by two circle officers and one magistrate each during their royal procession featuring gilded chariots and palanquins, District Magistrate (Kumbh) Jeevesh Nandan told UNI here.

He said three pantoon bridges would be reserved for the procession of sadhus and wooden barricades have already erected at all routes to keep the common pilgrims away from the marching sadhus.