India

Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 makes three Guinness World Records

Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 has been placed in the Guinness World Records in three sectors. It includes largest traffic and crowd management plan, the biggest painting exercise of public sites under paint my city scheme and biggest sanitation and waste disposal mechanism.

It was announced by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in a press release.

A three member team from Guinness World Records visited the Prayagraj for this purpose. Exercise at large scale was done before the team members for three days from 28th February 3rd March 2019.

Around 503 shuttle buses were pressed into service in one go for the team on February 28 on the highway. Several people participated in painting exercise on 1st March around 10 thousand workers engaged in cleaning at Prayagraj Kumbh performing their duties all together.

Only a single bathing festival of Mahashivratri of the six main bathing festivals remains. Five bathing festivals of the Kumbh have concluded successfully with more than 22 crore pilgrims taking a holy dip.

The Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred pitcher) is anchored in Hindu mythology. It is the largest public gathering and collective act of faith, anywhere in the world. The Mela draws tens of millions of pilgrims over the course of approximately 48 days to bathe at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mystical Sarasvati. Primarily, this congregation includes Ascetics, Saints, Sadhus, Sadhvis, Kalpvasis, and Pilgrims from all walks of life.

The Kumbh Mela has been inscribed on the list of “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2017.