Deluge of faith: Religious fervour on Somvati Amavasya and Navsamvatsar was unprecedented:

It was indeed a sight to behold on Somvati Amavasya as hordes of devotees from all over the globe marched towards the Ganga. They were driven by an unwavering faith and seeked to fulfill their ultimate desire to take a dip in the Ganga. Two back-to-back snans, Somvati Amavasya and Navsamvatsar, replet the masses with faith and devotion. Nearly 50 lakhs pilgrims took holy dip on Somvati Amavasya and more than 10 lakhs did the same on Navsamvatsar. It was a unique occasion as well, because of coincidence of the Somvati Amavasya with the Mahakumbh.

Praveen Jha Shastri says that it is after 760 years that Somvati Amavasya has occurred during Kumbh. The snan of Somvati Amavasya, sixth snan of the Kumbh and second Shahi snan, has one more special significance. As all the 13 akharas, including 7 Shaiva akharas of the sanyasis, the 3 Vaishnav akharas of the Bairagi sect, the 2 akharas of the Udasins and the 1 akhara of the Nirmals, took part in this Shahi snan. On the first Shahi Snan which was held on February 12, only the 7 akharas of the Sanyasi sect took part.

This time sadhus and mahants also took out royal processions to display their glory and grandeur. As their respective Acharya Mahamandleshwars and Shree Mahants seated on decked chariots and in palanquins under gold and silver canopies. The akharas took snan in order of precedence, which was decided jointly by the All India Akhara Parishad and the mela administration. The three Shankaracharyas, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati and Swami Nishchhalanand Saraswati, followed by their large retinue, also took holy bath on the occasion, amid the chanting of Vedic hymns, blowing of the conches and trumpets and bells. As the royal processions of the sadhus and the mahants meandered through the prescribed routes devotees thronged to have a glimpse of the holy men.

Dr. Vishnu Dutt Rakesh, a noted scholar of the Indian scriptures says that these royal processions of the sadhus had their genesis in the old traditions of grand welcome accorded to the sants and the mahants by the kings and the princesses, as the holy men proceeded to take bath in the river during the Kumbh. On Navsamvatsar the devotees took bath at Hari-ki-Pauri throughout the day, while on the day of the Shahi Snan on Somvati Amavasya, the sanctum sanctorum was reserved for the sant community from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m..

This time the security arrangements were more elaborate. The entire mela area was turned into a fortress with multi-layer security arrangement. D.I.G. Kumbh Mela, Alok Sharma, who really did a commendable job in meticulously planning and consummately executing the security arrangements, said that 14,000 security personnel, including 28 companies of the P.A.C., 10 companies of the R.A.F., 15 companies of the C.R.P.F., 6 companies of the C.I.S.F., 2 companies of the B.S.F., 3 companies of the I.T.B.P., besides units of divers, mounted police, bomb disposal squads, sniffer dogs and fire extinguishers, were deployed and 132 CCTV cameras, including 55 at Hari Ki Pauri were installed to keep a vigil on disruptive elements. A very strict traffic plan to manage traffic was also enforced. More than 2,000 special buses from different states and 28 special trains were pressed into service to ferry the devotees. A large number of pilgrims also flocked to the city by their personal vehicles and hired buses.

The Kumbh mela officer, Anand Vardhan, thanked security personnel, officials and employees of all the departments for their co-operation, support and making Kumbh a success.