In a global push, 72 ambassadors set to get the feel of Kumbh

The high profile visit will be provided security cover by team of National Security Guard (NSG) and UP police Special Task Force (STF) from Bamrauli Airport to Sangam and back.

Eyeing offshore branding of Kumbh Mela 2019, union minister of state for external affairs General (retd) VK Singh is likely to lead a delegation of around 150 foreign nationals, including ambassadors of 72 countries, to Sangam, on December 15.

The tent city coming up on the banks of Sangam. It will be home to lakhs of Kalpvasis and pilgrims during their stay at the 49-day long Kumbh Mela beginning January 15.(Anil Kumar Maurya/ HT photo)

The high profile visit will be provided security cover by team of National Security Guard (NSG) and UP police Special Task Force (STF) from Bamrauli Airport to Sangam and back.

The motive behind the visit of diplomats is to make them feel the pulse of the mega event first hand.

According to Kumbh Mela adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand the delegation will arrive in a special aircraft from Delhi at Bamrauli Airport at 9.30am, after which the delegation will be escorted in special cars to Sangam.

“En route to the Sangam, the delegation will be welcomed by 8,000 school students dressed in traditional attire of different states and holding flags of the 72 nations from where the diplomats hail. The students will also provide a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage of the country through different tableaux,” he said.

Anand further said that on arrival at the Sangam, the delegation will again be accorded a traditional welcome followed by a first-hand feel of the soon-to-start 49-day mega religious fair through an exhibition on Kumbh works.

The once-in-six-year religious fair will formally kick-off with the first official bathing of Makar Sankranti on January 15, 2019 and conclude with the last bathing of Shivratri on March 4. A video presentation about the religious and cultural aspect of Kumbh will also be screened for the delegation followed by a tour to different corners of the tent city, he added.

At noon, the delegation will head for Arail area across the Ganga to attend the flag-hoisting ceremony wherein every ambassador of 72 nations will unfurl their flags to a tune played by a band. The diplomats will also see the residential colony for non-resident Indians (NRIs) taking shape in same area before heading back to Bamrauli Airport to end the day-long tour.

Meanwhile, UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya attended the ‘Bhumi Pujan’ at the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Andhawan, Jhusi, on Thursday.

The PM, during his visit on December 16, will dedicate projects worth over Rs 3,000 crore to the public. The rally has gained importance in the light of this being the first such engagement of the PM after defeat in the assembly polls held in five states.

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Photo Caption 3:UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya attending ‘Bhumi Pujan’ at the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s December 16 public rally in Andhawan, Jhusi, on Thursday.

Photo Caption 2: Workers busy constructing the ‘German Hanger technique’ tent for PM rally in Jhusi.

Photo Caption: Security personnel reviewing preparations for December 15 visit of delegation of ambassadors of different countries, at Sangam, on Thursday.

(All pics by Sheeraz Rizvi/HT)