Prayagraj: Over 5 million pilgrims visit Maha Kumbh Mela on seventh day; fire at Geeta Press camp doused

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 19 (ANI): More than five million pilgrims visited the Maha Kumbh Mela on Sunday which marked the seventh day of the grand event as the festivities continued.
Among a congregation of over 5.182 million devotees gathered at the Sangam Triveni, 1 million Kalpvasis and 4.182 million pilgrims took a holy dip by 6 PM.
As of January 18, more than 77.2 million pilgrims have taken a dip at the Sangam Triveni during the Maha Kumbh 2025.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath conducted an aerial survey and inspection of the Maha Kumbh.
The Chief Minister also visited the Paramarth Niketan Kumbh Mela Camp to attend the ongoing 'Katha' by Indian spiritual leader Morari Bapu.
CM Yogi was welcomed by Swami Chidanand Saraswati, the spiritual head of the Rishikesh-based Parmarth Niketan Ashram.
"Crores of people are visiting Prayagraj daily just to take a holy dip. Amazingly, 10 lakh people are taking a dip within an hour. The kind of crowd management, event management and safety done here by Yogi ji is amazing," Saraswati had said earlier while speaking to ANI.
The CM also met a women delegation from Italy. Founder and trainer of Meditation and Yoga Center in Italy, Mahi Guruji along with his followers made a courtesy visit to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow today.
The women who returned from Prayagraj Mahakumbh recited Ramayana, Shiv Tandava and several bhajans in front of the Chief Minister.
Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma took a dip at Sangam and offered prayers at the Sangam. He also took darshan of the reclining Lord Hanuman at his temple.
Taking to X, Sharma said, "I had the unique privilege of taking a holy dip of faith at the sacred Triveni Sangam in the grand confluence of faith, devotion and unity 'Mahakumbh-2025' in Prayagraj."
"Thereafter, after having the divine darshan of reclining Hanuman Ji Maharaj and worshipping him with full rites, prayers were offered for the happiness, prosperity, auspiciousness and healthy life of all the people of the state," the tweet added.
In an unexpected mishap, a fire also broke out at the Gita Press camp in the Mela due to the explosion of three cooking gas cylinders, however, no casualties were reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Uttar Pradesh CM to inquire about the situation following the incident.
Uttar Pradesh Minister AK Sharma said that around 100 people were in the shivir area (of Gita Press camp),
"Almost 100 people were there in the shivir but with the blessings of Ma Ganga there has been no causality," the minister said.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of the Maha Kumbh Mela, Vivek Chaturvedi confirmed that earlier today around 70 to 80 huts and around 8 to 10 tents were burnt in a fire that had broken out in the Gita Press camp in the Maha Kumbh area.
Speaking to ANI, the ADM said, "Unfortunately a fire broke out at the Gita Press camp. It is reported that around 70 to 80 huts and eight to 10 tents have been burnt. There are no reports of any casualties. Everyone has been rescued safely. The fire has been extinguished."
NDRF Deputy Inspector in General (DIG) MK Sharma said that four teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had worked together and brought the fire under control.
Samajawadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday called for immediate attention to the and urged authorities to take necessary measures to prevent such accidents in the future.
"The fire that broke out at the Maha Kumbh Mela should be taken cognizance of immediately and seriously and it should be ensured that such an accident does not happen in future," posted Akhilesh Yadav on X.
The Maha Kumbh began on January 13 and will continue until February 26. (ANI)