|
For
those who live in
the world of
pessimism, despair
and hopelessness,
occasions like
Simhastha
Mahakumbh come as
a surprise to
them, for they can
rarely think of
triumph of faith
against heavy
odds. The odds
that millions of
people have defied
are truly
stupendous; they
have braved the
scorching sun and
taken trouble of
traveling long
distances with
children in tow.
They have flocked
to Ujjain without
caring about where
they would spend
the night. They
walked long
distances to
converge on the
ghats of the
Kshipra for the
celestial bath,
stood in queues
for having darshan
of Mahakal,
trekked endlessly
to seek blessings
of sadhus and
sanyasis without
the slightest of
demur. Such
outpouring of
human faith and
presence of
divinity have kept
alive those
eternal values
that make human
race different
from other living
beings.
There
are several firsts
in the celebration
of Simhastha in
Ujjain this time.
It was for the
first time that
the modern tools
for crowd
management and
security were
deployed
extensively with
great success.
Number of pilgrims
taking part in
Simhastha was the
highest ever, so
was the number of
shahi snans and
parv snans. Rising
to the challenge,
the arrangements
made by the state
were unprecedented
in scale and the
running theme of
all the
arrangements was
the safety and
security of
pilgrims. For the
first time
scientifically
designed signage
system for Ujjain
city and Mela area
was installed for
proper information
to pilgrims. It is
to the credit of
millions of
people, alert
officials and
volunteers who
made the Simhastha
such a great
success.
As
far as security
dimension is
concerned, the
police and
administration
were ready with
back up plans for
dealing with any
eventuality of
excessive built up
of crowd in any
location and
security risks.
Divers and patrol
boats were in
readiness to save
those who were at
risk of drowning,
so were the
ambulances and
fire tenders.
There were several
fire accidents in
the mela area but
no harm was done
because fire
tenders were able
to reach the
accident site in
no time to put
down the fire. As
many as 14 fire
stations were set
up and 53 fire
tenders deployed
for dealing with
any eventuality in
the Mela area.
Scale
of preparations
was in proportion
to anticipated
arrivals of the
pilgrims. New
ghats were nearly
doubled to 3500
metres. Series of
stop dams were
constructed in
upper reaches of
the River Kshipra
for storage of
water and its
regulated release
during snan days.
It was for the
first time that
separate inner and
outer ring roads
were constructed
for Ujjain. There
are six highways
leading to Ujjain
from various parts
of Madhya Pradesh,
not only were
these highways
re-laid and
repaired prior to
Simhastha, but
were
interconnected
through an outer
ring road. Seven
satellite towns
were developed for
regulating flow of
pilgrims inside
the city. All
basic amenities
were provided at
these satellite
townships. An
inner ring road
was also developed
for easier
movement within
the city. Roads
within the city
were repaired and
important temples
of the ancient
city given a
face-lift.
It
was for the first
time that over 20
thousand pucca
toilets were
constructed for
maintaining
hygienic
conditions in the
mela area. Such a
large number of
permanent type
toilets were
successful in
providing better
and clean
conditions to
visitors. The
effectiveness of
arrangements in
providing hygienic
conditions and
clean drinking
water has been
attested by the
low incidence of
diseases in Ujjain.
Further,
arrangements for
providing medical
care have also
helped in saving
lives. Doctors
promptly attended
people falling
sick.
Arrangements
made for
Panchkroshi Yatra
were able to
provide all
necessary
amenities to the
devotees who took
arduous journey of
walking 118
kilometres. These
arrangements were
also turned out to
be effective as
Panchkroshi Yatra
passed off without
any trouble or
inconveniences to
the people. In
view of Mahakal
being one of the
12 jyotirlingams,
it was obvious
that pilgrims
would like to have
darshan of Mahakal
during their visit
to Ujjain for
Simhatha. In order
to facilitate
darshan for a
large number of
devotees,
nandigriha of the
Mahakal temple was
expanded and entry
and exit of
devotees were so
regulated that it
became possible
for anybody to
have darshan of
Mahakal in 20-25
minutes.
Ujjain
ranks among the
oldest cities
known to the
mankind, whose
history is part of
the folklore and
collective memory
of the people.
Described as the
holiest city on
the earth in Adi
Brahma Puran,
Ujjain represents
ancient
civilization of
India and in a way
is a narrative of
her past and its
evolution over the
centuries.
Simhastha is a
rare occasion to
experience unity
with the reality.
Millions of people
participated in
the month long
Simhastha this
year, in the
process creating a
new record for
Ujjain. Amazingly
the Simhastha
created a platform
for bringing
together people
from all walks of
life.
Resounding
success of Mela
has once again
proved that the
right mix of
strategy, planning
and guidance on
the part of the
government and the
administration
coupled with
self-discipline,
faith and devotion
of the people are
capable of great
success at
occasions like
Simhastha.
|