New Delhi, 27 February — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday described the recently concluded MahaKumbh as a historic moment reflecting India's growing national consciousness.
In a message marking the end of the 45-day festival, Modi said: “The Maha Kumbh was not just a religious gathering but a sign of a nation awakening, shedding its colonial past, and embracing a new era.”
“Maha Kumbh marks the turn of an era. Such an event has not been seen in decades, and it will shape our nation for centuries,” Modi added.
Over the past 45 days, more than 620 million people—nearly a third of India’s approximately 1.4 billion population—attended the Maha Kumbh Mela to bathe in Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three holy rivers—the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati—in a ritual believed to purify sins and bring them closer to spiritual liberation.
However, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released data on water quality assessments conducted at five locations in and around the confluence in Prayagraj, as well as two additional sites along the Ganges.
According to a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), high levels of faecal coliform—microbes from human and animal excreta—were found in the river water where devotees took the holy dip during the Maha Kumbh.
But the Yogi government asserted that the Ganga water in UP’s Prayagraj was as pure "as alkaline water."