Maha Kumbh: 300-km traffic jam leaves lakhs of pilgrims stranded

Prayagraj: A sea of vehicles stretching up to 300 kilometres turned the roads leading to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj into a massive parking lot, leaving lakhs of devotees stranded for hours, unable to reach the world’s largest religious gathering.  The unprecedented congestion forced many to remain stuck in their vehicles, some even hundreds of kilometres away from the fair site on Sunday and Monday.A day earlier, heavy traffic heading toward Prayagraj had already led to police stopping hundreds of vehicles in different areas of Madhya Pradesh to prevent overcrowding.The extreme bottleneck, which social media users dubbed the “world’s biggest traffic jam,” reportedly extended across 200 to 300 kilometres, affecting pilgrims travelling through Madhya Pradesh.The situation prompted the state police to halt traffic across multiple districts, leaving travellers stuck for long hours on highways.Taking a swipe at the Uttar Pradesh government, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav blasted the administration’s handling of the event, urging authorities to address the plight of stranded devotees.