Final millions bathe at India's Kumbh megafestival
Final holy plunge
"We expect at least 10 million today because it is both the last day and Mahashivratri," one of the biggest Hindu holy days, government official Prabhat Shukla told AFP.
"Around 220 million people have visited the Kumbh as per our last calculations. The final tally will only be updated after the end of the festival but it could be around 250 million," Shukla added.
In pic: A devotee lies on a bed of thorns at Sangam — the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers.
AFP
Path to salvation
Hindus believe bathing at the meeting point of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati at the festival — home to a vast tent city bigger than Manhattan — brings salvation.
AFP
The myth
The pilgrims including thousands of Naga Sadhus — a devout, fierce and famously nude sect of followers of the Hindu god Shiva — rise at dawn for prayers at the Kumbh Mela before immersing themselves in the holy waters.
AFP
Mega Kumbh yet to come
Authorities have spent about $40 million on an operation to block some drains and make sure others undergo cleaning so that waste water pouring into the rivers does not threaten the pilgrims.
AFP
Crowd control
Special skimmer boats collected waste from the surface of the rivers and more than 40,000 temporary toilets have been installed.
AFP
The ritual
AFP
A gentle reminder
AP
