Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims expected to take part

With the Nashik Kumbh Mela in 2027 expected to draw lakhs of devotees, multiple challenges lie ahead for the administration.

At least seven people were killed and around 10 injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj on Wednesday, an official said, the most auspicious day of the six-week Great Pitcher Festival.

Beyond the Sangam’s sacred waters, the city offers a treasure trove of experiences that cater to every kind of traveller.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India early Wednesday, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.

Swarming throngs of devotees bathed in rivers at the world's biggest religious gathering in India on Thursday, undeterred by a stampede a day earlier that killed at least 30 people. The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful from around India every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj,