STORY: India's mega Hindu festival Maha Kumbh attracting 663 million concludes
SHOOTING TIME: recent footage
DATELINE: Feb. 28, 2025
LENGTH: 00:02:13
LOCATION: New Delhi
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. shot of India gate
2. various of Hindu festival Maha Kumbh Mela (courtesy of IANS)

STORYLINE:

India's mega Hindu festival, Maha Kumbh Mela, attracting a crowd of 663 million to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has formally concluded, officials said Thursday.

According to the Kumbh officials, the festival concluded Wednesday night with a massive crowd taking the final holy dip.

"On Wednesday alone 15.3 million people took the bath," an official associated with the event said. "So far over 663 million devotees have taken the holy dip during the 45-day-long spiritual mega event."

The festival was organized in Prayagraj, about 196 km south of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

The Maha Kumbh festival is a mega religious congregation held every 12 years.

On Jan. 29, a pre-dawn stampede was triggered after a barrier broke as tens of thousands of devotees thronged the Triveni Sangam on the occasion of taking a holy dip. Officially the incident killed 30 devotees and injured 60 others.

Apart from this, two fire incidents that damaged dozens of makeshift tents were witnessed during the festival. However, no loss of life or injuries were reported in these fires.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from New Delhi. 
(XHTV)