The Uttarakhand government has requested a budget of Rs 3,472 crore from the Centre for the upcoming Haridwar Kumbh Mela, and is preparing to make the 150 sq km area grand.
To make the Haridwar Kumbh Mela grand, spread over an area of 150 square kilometers, the state has requested a budget of ₹3,472 crore from the central government. This year, an estimated 170 to 210 million devotees are expected to arrive at the Kumbh between January and April. Despite COVID-19, 66.25 lakh devotees attended the four royal baths during the 2021 Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh Mela officer Sonika has prepared a proposal for the preparations. This time, it is expected that 15 to 20 million devotees will arrive for the royal baths alone. Currently, the Kumbh Mela has 12.62 km of ghats, with a capacity of 13.9 million devotees per 24 hours.
There is a proposal to expand this to 5.68 km at a cost of ₹110 crore, allowing 17.8 million devotees per 24 hours. There is also a proposal to construct a 2.5 km temporary ghat. A budget of Rs 80 crore has been demanded for the construction of 78.38 km of temporary roads and 22 temporary bridges in Kumbh.
Similarly, the current water availability in the Kumbh area is 132 MLD while the demand is for 164 MLD. For the remaining 32 MLD, 17 tube wells, three overhead tanks, 50.50 km of pipelines will be replaced and 49 fire hydrants will be installed. A budget of Rs 99.25 crore has been sought for this. At the same time, a budget of Rs 56.37 crore has been demanded for laying 220 km of temporary pipelines, building 3000 public stand posts, and 300 temporary fire hydrants.
