Pilgrims to cruise in ferry boats and hovercraft in Haridwar Mahakumbh

Dehradun: If all goes well, in Haridwar Mahakumbh 2021, pilgrims might get options of using hi-tech hovercrafts and ferry boats cruising on the Ganga waterways to reach out the bathing ghats and to make this happen the Uttarakhand government has already submitted a proposal to union shipping ministry for seeking the permissions last week.

The Haridwar Mahakumbh Mela area is spread over 156 square kilometer area divided into 23 sectors and as per conservative estimates over 20 crore pilgrims are expected to reach Haridwar to the holy dip from 14 January next year.

Haridwar Mahakumbh Mela, Officer in Charge, Deepak Rawat told the Millennium Post that the idea of offering hovercraft and ferry boats is aimed to give smooth rides to pilgrims to reach Haridwar. "A proposal has been submitted to the ministry and as soon as the permission is granted, we will start working on the routes and other logistics. Our aim is to add unique features in overall Kumbh operations to make it a global event," said Rawat.

Using the waterways as an access option would be a great relief for the pilgrims during the Haridwar Mahakumbh since all the roads and massive traffic jams usually are a big put off to reach the bathing areas on the selected auspicious days. "Cruising in a ferry boat or a hovercraft would be a big attraction for the pilgrims and it would also ease off traffic a bit," said Rawat.

Apart from the pilgrims the Kumbh Mela administration also plans to use the ferry boats for medical ambulance during the Haridwar Mahakumbh. The state government has also planned a 1,000-bed Covid care center with 493 doctors on duty, ambulances and paramedics during the Kumbh. For the round-the-clock, over 100 drones and 1,500 CCTV will be monitoring the entire Mela region to tackle any emergency situations during the Mahakumbh.