Prayagraj News: As a part of preparations for the Kumbh Mela, which will be held in 2025, sleeping pods were inaugurated on Friday for the pilgrims who will be arriving in the city for the religious gathering.
Giving details of the sleeping pods, BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi said on Friday that previously there were only two such pods in India, both in Mumbai, and the third one is being built in Prayagraj. The Mahakumbh will commence on January 14, 2025, with Makar Sankranti and end on February 26, 2025, with Maha Shivratri.
"I am very pleased that as part of the preparations for the Kumbh Mela, sleeping pods have been inaugurated today (on Friday)... The happiest part is that there are only two such sleeping pods in India, both in Mumbai, and this is the third one being built in our country, right here in Prayagraj. I believe that the Modi government and Yogi government will never let Uttar Pradesh lag behind in terms of development," Joshi told PTI.
What Are Sleeping Pods?
The sleeping pod is a very small capsule-sized room but equipped with hi-tech facilities. This includes phone charging, Wi-Fi network, locker rooms and deluxe bathrooms, among other facilities.
According to news agency IANS, tourists will get sleeping pods on rent. A plan has been made to install sleeping pods on the lines of airport lobbies and railway stations.
Mahakumbh Tent City
The Uttar Pradesh government will set up a “tent city” spread over 25 hectares for tourists, intending to make Mahakumbh 2025 a successful event.
The tent city for the Mahakumbh in 2025 will be spread over 4,000 hectares, IANS reported. The tent city this time will be 800 hectares more than the 3,200 hectares in which the tent city was spread during the 2019 Kumbh.
The tent city will be spread between Sangam, Arail, and Phaphamau and divided into 25 sectors. It is set to offer a range of accommodations, from humble to luxurious, for the 45-day fair.
The 2025 Kumbh Mela is likely to attract around 40 crore visitors, IANS reported, citing officials of the Prayagraj Mela Authority.
According to the plan, the tent city would be interconnected with the help of 30 massive pontoon bridges—eight more than the ones set up in the 2019 edition of Kumbh Mela. Around 1.45 lakh toilets will be set up this time around in the vast mela area, and 10,000 sanitation workers will be deployed. There will be 25,000 dustbins, 800 cleaning gangs, and an ICT-based monitoring system for the Kumbh Mela.