00:00Welcome to Triveni Sangam, the auspicious place in Prayagraj, the city that is hosting
00:11Mahakumar 2025. Billions of people are set to descend into this city in the next 45 days.
00:18This is the place, Triveni Mahasangam, and you would see the boats going there in a pattern
00:25and people going there and taking a holy dip, despite the fact that the Kumbh will begin
00:30from 13th of January, which is next year only. But life goes on here. The hustle-bustle continues
00:37at the sandy bank of the confluence of River Ganga and River Yamuna, and you would see
00:44people offering prasad to the holy river also, bhog, as they call it, and the families and
00:53their beliefs. Meanwhile, this is a general affair here at the banks at Triveni Sangam.
01:01You would see people selling sugar candies and a few snacks there. We saw a little earlier
01:09even camels brought from Rajasthan have now been put here for the visitors to have a ride,
01:17and the business also is thriving here, whereas the kids enjoy playing in the sand.
01:23That is at least their contribution that they are making it here. This place, as of now,
01:29is open for the general public, but restrictions would be imposed as we get closer to 13th
01:37of January, when the Mahakum would start. Only devotees who want to take a holy dip
01:42would be allowed here to come this side. But this is a general affair. This would remind
01:46you of a juhu chaupati or other beaches in Mumbai if you have been there. But as of
01:51now, it is business as usual here. But the administration is also making elaborate arrangements.
01:59The banks, the immediate proximity of the river is being cleaned continuously for those
02:03who are offering prayer and offering something to the holy river. That way, the things are
02:10being cleaned up time and again. Also, the visuals that you saw just now, the construction
02:15work is also going on here. That's what I was trying to mention, that in the run-up
02:20to the Mahakum, tractors, JCB digging machines, the earth movers, all have been deployed in
02:28order to clean the banks, in order to make passage for the devotees, so that the incoming
02:37water doesn't change. The sandbagging here, once again, as I mentioned earlier also, has
02:42been done to give a hard surface for the devotees so that they don't slip or topple.
02:49There you would see a small embankment has been created. These cement bags have been
02:58used here so that it gives you a solid foundation. You don't slip, you don't tip over. And that's
03:04why, so that you can easily walk into the holy river, this side. From here on, this
03:11is the river Yamuna, which comes from the western part of the country. River Ganga comes
03:17from the northern side, from Uttarkashi. And these two rivers, when they meet, then at
03:23that point, we have Sangam. The third river, Saraswati, is invisible. It is called the
03:30Gupta Nadi. Equally religious, equally the value and the sentiments attached are very
03:37pious. But this remaining Sangam, as of now, is getting ready. While life goes on here,
03:46everyone, every face, which you would see, are hopeful of a very successful organization
03:54of Mahakumbh 2025. The cleaning process, as I mentioned earlier, you see these machines
04:00have been deployed. They are basically cleaning the immediate proximity of this river, where
04:10the devotees would be taking a holy dip. It collects all the flowers and the offerings
04:16that have been thrown into the river, collects it and puts it back. This is how it is, as
04:21of now, in Prayagraj. As we get closer to Mahakumbh 2025, this hustle-bustle is surely
04:29going to get even more busier. With camera person Imran, this is Pankaj Mishra for OneIndia News from Prayagraj.
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