25 km long traffic jam chokes Prayagraj ahead of last holy dip at Maha Kumbh

Massive traffic jams have returned in Prayagraj ahead of the final holy dip of the Maha Kumbh 2025 religious gathering. According to reports, traffic jams stretching as long as 25 kms were witnessed on Sunday (February 23) as pilgrims made a beeline to enter the city to participate in the festival. Images and videos went viral on social media reminding of the traffic chaos witnessed earlier this month. The Maha Kumbh 2025 festival will end on Wednesday (February 26) with the last holy dip on Maha Shivratri.

Long queues of cars, vans and buses ferrying pilgrims from various parts of the state and the country were seen waiting for long hours at the designated entry points of Praygraj, the venue of the Maha Kumbh 2025. According to an HT report, police were seen trying to control the traffic chaos by directing vehicles to parking spots to clear roads.

Maha Kumbh 2025: World's largest gathering leads to longest traffic jam

Earlier this week, Prayagraj witnessed one of the longest traffic jams in the world with vehicles queued up almost 300 kms to enter the city. A report on HT highlighted that the worst of the traffic roadblocks was reported from roads headed into Uttar Pradesh from Madhya Pradesh and that cops on the ground had to stop traffic in different districts which resulted in pilgrims getting stuck for hours. As a result, many of these roads turned into massive parking spots, prompting netizens online to wonder if this was the longest traffic jam in the world.

Maha Kumbh 2025 traffic advisory

As the religious gathering enters the last few days, the state is gearing up to control traffic. Prashant Kumar, DGP in Uttar Pradesh, said, "We are making comprehensive arrangements for traffic control, crowd management, and ensuring a smooth experience for devotees, especially during the last bath and the upcoming weekend." The city police has been busy diverting vehicles to avoid traffic chaos with thousands of vehicles entering the city every day.

The gathering at Prayagraj has also seen devotees thronging to near-by religious cenres like Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Anticipating heavy footfall and traffic influx, the city administration is also on its toes and prepared plans to allow smooth flow of vehicles. “Any devotee coming to Ayodhya will not face any inconvenience... Our traffic and diversion plans are ready," said Girish Pati Tripathi, Mayor of Ayodhya.

According to officials, Praygraj has witnessed more than 60 crore devotees taking part in the Maha Kumbh festival that started on January 13.

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