The ecstasy of the Simhatha is at its peak as the concluding day of this month long religious saga comes closer. The saints, sadhus and pilgrims enjoying the spiritual bliss at this world's largest religious congregation wish the time to freeze. They want the joy to last till eternity.

     For both those who are witnessing the Simhastha for the first time as well as those who had attended previous Simhasthas the experience is so great that they would love to preserve it forever. The Simhastha that started on April 5 last is different from the previous ones in many ways.

     The most significant feature of this Simhastha is the unprecedented arrangements made for comfortable stay and visit of saints, sadhus and common pilgrims. The arrangements for supply of electricity and water , health care , roads and the crowd management, security measures and the nice behaviour and conduct of the district and police administration are being widely appreciated.

     It is mainly due to these arrangements that two shahi snans and two parv snans have been a great success. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the last shahi snan to be held on May 4 next. On the first shahi snan day on April 5 about 15 lakh saints, sadhus and pilgrims took the holy dip in the sacred Kshipra river. On the first parv snan day on April 19 the ancient city of Ujjain witnessed an unprecedented surge of pilgrims that broke all previous records. Over 50 lakh people came to the city of six lakh population and they had no inconvenience whatsoever. Later , on the second shahi snan day on April 22 and on the second parv snan day on April 24, lakhs of people took the holy dip in Kshipra and visited the various temples and other sacred places in the city without any hassle. The credit of this , of course , goes to the efficient arrangements and farsightedness of the administration. The whole hearted cooperation of all sections of society and self-discipline of the saints and pilgrims was also a major factor responsible for the success of these events.

     Following the unfortunate stampede at the Kumbh at Nasik, a major concern for Madhya Pradesh was to avoid such a situation in the Simhastha to be held in Ujjain. After elaborate discussions and studies, effective strategies were worked out for this.

     First of all it was decided that there should be no congestion at any point in and around the mela zone as well as around the places of religious importance. For this, the roads and other places were widened. The snan ghats of the Kshipra river were extended and new ghats were constructed as a result of which the space available at these ghats during this Simhastha is three times the space available during the last Simhastha. As far as possible these ghats were interlinked. The mela zone was also extended. The zone of last Simhastha was spread over 1367 hectare whereas the mela zone in this Simhastha covers 2151 hectare. Outer and inner ring roads and three bridges were constructed to regulate and control the vehicular traffic and to facilitate the movement of public in the mela area and Ujjain city. These have become a permanent asset for the people of Ujjain and nearby areas.

     Besides, the mela administration and the police chalked out effective plans for crowd management. They kept different crowd management plans ready to meet various likely situations that may arise at various points . These plans were executed efficiently as and when required. Close circuit television sets and modern cameras kept a strict watch at every point in the mela zone. This led to proper management or balancing of crowd.

     Besides, effective arrangements were put in place at Shri Mahakaleshwar temple to facilitate easy darshan. Irrespective of volume of crowd a pilgrim takes hardly half an hour to have darshan. In previous Simhasthas pilgrims had to stand in queue for seven to eight hours for darshan. The Nandi Hall has been expanded following which a large number of devotees can have darshan of Shri Mahakaleshwar at a time. A ramp has been constructed from Chandi Gate which leads the pilgrims direct to the Darshan Hall. The blind turning in the corridor has also been removed.

     The basic facilities and arrangements made in the mela zone are appreciated widely by the saints as well as the pilgrims. For the first time, electricity has been provided free of charge to the saints in the Simhastha. About 28 megawatt electricity is being supplied in the mela zone. As many as 150 transmitters and three thousand low tension poles have been installed. Double supply system has been ensured in entire mela zone from 132 KV sub station at Ratadia. This has ensure uninterrupted power supply.

     For drinking water supply 90 kilometer long pipe lines have been laid. Seven permanent water tanks have been constructed and three temporary tanks arranged. Besides, about four thousand stand posts and four hundred water kiosks have been set up. A capacity for conserving one crore 13 lakh liter additional water has been created. Clean Kshipra water has been provided for snan and its quality is being checked regularly.

     For the first time pucca latrines, bathrooms and change rooms have been provided for the pilgrims. This has greatly helped maintain cleanliness and hygiene. Proper sewage system has been provided. Bio spray is being done regularly to kill bees and bad smell.

     Proper health and medi care facilities have been provided in the mela zone and the city. A hundred bed new hospital has been constructed. Seven permanent hospitals and 26 temporary hospitals and mobile dispensaries have been arranged.

     Smooth supply of milk, food grains and other essential commodities, cooking gas , kerosene , petrol , diesel , vegetables, flowers etc is being maintained.

     Effective security arrangements have been made and over 15 thousand police personnel are deployed for this purpose. Before deployment they were given special training in view of the religious and spiritual nature of the mela.

     Certainly, Simhastha has a great religious and spiritual significance, but any lack or lapse in arrangements might have marredits joy. The excellent arrangements at the Simhastha have facilitated the pilgrims and the saints to enjoy the great religious saga to the full. This is going to be a unique experience for them which they would love to cherish life long.

D.K. Malviya