It's curtains on Kumbh; many firsts during congregation

Curtains officially came down on the 50-day religious, spiritual and cultural jamboree -- Kumbh-2019 -- on Tuesday evening as Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took part in the closing ceremony of what has been billed as the largest congregation on earth.

At a glittering ceremony held at the Ganga Pandal in Kumbhnagar, in presence of several religious leaders, seers, spiritual gurus and officials of the police and district administration, the Governor and the Chief Minister felicitated all those who ensured that the Kumbh was safe, clean and successful.

The Kumbh-2019, an official told IANS, was special in more ways than one. While President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, and many Union and state ministers, Governors and Chief Ministers of other states, among others, visited the Kumbh, participated and took the holy dip, three Guinness world records were also set during the religious fest.

This included rolling out of a 510-bus fleet for a 3.2-km stretch, a community hand painting competition and a mass cleaning event by 10,000 sanitation workers. The festival began on January 15 on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and concluded with the final royal bathing on Shivratri on Monday.

This was also the first Kumbh in which the state cabinet met and many of the state ministers took a collective dip, along with the Chief Minister.

Officials said more than 24 crore people, pilgrims and devotees visited the Kumbh in the entire period. NRIs and foreign diplomats from various countries also participated in the Kumbh.

Adityanath greeted the people behind the Kumbh and said: "You all deserve commendation for organising and managing efficiently the largest human congregation on the earth. India and Uttar Pradesh is proud of you all, especially sanitation workers, for the cleanliness and making it a Divya Kumbh, Bhavya Kumbh and Swachh Kumbh."

He also announced the "Kumbh Seva Medal" for all the police personnel involved with the security of the Kumbh Mela.