LUCKNOW: It’s a quiet weekend, the first since the completion of the 45-day Mahakumbh 2025. The ghats at the Sangam are deserted. However, the infrastructure that transformed the 10,000-acre area into a temporary district—Mahakumbhnagar—remains standing, silently recounting the stories of one of the largest religious gatherings in history.
After the conclusion of the mela on February 26, the authorities’ next big task is dismantling the mega temporary city set up on the banks of the Sangam to accommodate the staggering footfall of over 66 crore within a 15-day deadline.
Spanning over the sprawling meadows, the tent city had three lakh tents, 1,50,000 toilets, and 500 kilometres of checkered plates across 25 sectors. Moreover, 30 pontoon bridges, 1,306 kilometres of underground pipelines, and 1,582 kilometres of overhead power cables were stretched to ensure seamless operations during the congregation.
A day after the conclusion of Mahakumbh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath led a massive cleanliness drive at Arail Ghat with his cabinet colleagues. He announced Rs 10,000 bonuses for sanitation and health workers and police personnel for making the massive congregation a huge success.
The CM called upon the authorities and the people of Prayagraj to restore the pristine glory of the land along Sangam within a fortnight. Besides sanitation, the more significant challenge lies in dismantling the extensive infrastructure erected across the mela premises. Officials are now engaged round the clock to dismantle structures, remove waste, and restore the floodplains.
Mahakumbh Mela officer Vijay Kiran Anand said, “The National Green Tribunal has mandated that waste disposal be completed in 15 days, while the majority of the temporary structures should be dismantled as per a structured plan. “
Officials estimate that between 200 and 300 metric tonnes of waste was generated daily, all of which was transported to the Baswar waste processing plant in Ghoorpur, 20 kilometres from the Mela site. The plant, with a capacity of over 1,000 metric tonnes per day, efficiently managed the load throughout the congregation.
Additional District Magistrate Vivek Chaturvedi confirmed that Mahakumbh Nagar, created as the 76th district, would cease to exist by March 31, 2025.
Various departments have been entrusted with the task of dismantling the mela’s infrastructure within a deadline. According to official sources, while PWD has to remove 500 km of checkered plates and 30 pontoon bridges, UP Jal
Nigam has to remove 1,306 km of underground drinking water pipelines, 70,000 tap connections, and 85 tubewells, all within the NGT’s stipulated timeline.