The 45-day Mahakumbh that saw close to half the country’s population congregate in Allahabad, was blighted by two stampedes that claimed many lives, spawned allegations of hush-up bids and mismanagement by the Uttar Pradesh government and purportedly facilitated a “VVIP culture” to the detriment of common devotees ended on Wednesday.

The state government claimed that over 1.18 crore devotees took the holy dip at the Mahakumbh till 2pm on Maha Shivaratri, taking the total footfall to 65 crore.

The Mela area was declared a no-vehicle zone on Wednesday, forcing lakhs of pilgrims to trudge to the river banks with luggage on their heads. Two-wheelers, which were till Tuesday allowed to proceed till the elevated road around 2km from the Sangam, were also barred.

“No vehicle is allowed here except garbage carriers and ambulances. The officers on duty have clear instructions to ensure that the devotees take the holy dip at ghats nearest to their camps instead of trying to go to the Sangam,” said Vaibhav Krishna, the deputy inspector-general of the Kumbh.

There was simmering apprehension about a surge of pilgrims on the last day of the mega religious carnival that has been billed as a “once in 144 years” event, especially with the memory of the two stampedes still fresh.

During the Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya on January 29, a stampede broke out in the Mela area and killed at least 30 people after police allegedly blocked all the pontoon bridges over the river to give a clean passage to VVIPs. The other stampede took place at New Delhi railway station during a rush to catch a Kumbh-bound train on February 15, claiming 18 lives. It is widely believed that the actual tolls are much higher.

However, the Mahakumbh wound up with no untoward incident on the last day. Government sources said chief minister Yogi Adityanath would officially announce the end of the event on Friday.

A devotee puts her handprints on a wall in the Ganga Pandal during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. Prayagraj Mela Authority made an attempt to make the longest hand-printing painting on an 80-feet-long and 5-feet-wide wall in the Ganga Pandal at the Maha Kumbh Mela, on Tuesday. PTI

The state government appeared undeterred by the allegation that it was more attentive to the needs of VIPs and filmstars instead of the common devotees who were made to walk distances of 10km to 30km to reach the river banks. On Wednesday, cops were seen paving the way for VVIP convoys along dedicated roads in the Mela area, helping them to directly reach the nose of the Sangam, which is out of bounds for common people.

On Tuesday, special passage was granted to the convoy of actress Preity Zinta who visited the Kumbh for the third time and took the holy dip at the Sangam after it was declared a no-vehicle zone.

Zinta shared a video post on her X handle on Wednesday featuring her visit to the festival and wrote: “This was my third time at the Kumbh Mela & it was magical, heartwarming & a bit sad. Magical because no matter how hard I try, I cannot explain how I felt. Heartwarming because I went with my mom & it meant the world to her. Sad, because I wanted to be liberated from the various cycles of life & death only to realise the duality of life & attachment. Am I ready to let go of my family, my children & the people I love? No! I’m not!”

Several Bollywood actors have allegedly enjoyed “VIP treatment” in the last 45 days. On Monday, actors Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif bathed at the Sangam, as did actors Raveena Tandon and her daughter Rasha on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, the police didn’t learn from its mistakes. The stampede on January 29 happened because they had stopped lakhs of devotees to give passage to VVIPs. But the government made it a Mela of the VVIPs where the common devotees arrived after facing lots of hardships while the rich and the powerful got smooth passage,” a local journalist said on the condition of anonymity.

“The government also didn’t appear interested in protecting the honour of women, who had to change in the open after taking the holy dip. Several people were recording videos there but there were no cops to stop them,” the journalist added.

Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh police have arrested half a dozen people till now for uploading videos of women bathers at the Mahakumbh on social media and selling them online.

The Mahakumbh also witnessed sadhus such as Chidanand Saraswati of Paramartha Niketan, Swami Kailashanand of the Niranjani Akhara and Ravidra Puri, the head of the All India Akhara Parishad, accompanying industrialists and filmstars to the Sangam and providing them “luxurious stay” at their temporary ashrams on the Mela premises.

Political analysts said the BJP identified itself with the rich and powerful, adding that this was on full display even during the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024, where 9,000 politicians, industrialists and filmstars were invited but common devotees were stopped outside the city.

However, Adityanath has denied the allegation of promoting a “VVIP culture”. “Those who are against the country are spreading negative things about the Mahakumbh. But the devotees have ignored such people. You will see negatively if your mind is like that,” he said on Tuesday.

Responding to his remark, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said: “Ravana has arrived in the garb of a sadhu to commit a crime.”