Overview
- Mela officials reported 21 lakh bathers by 10 am on the final day, later updating the figure to over 40 lakh for Mahashivratri.
- District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said more than 22 crore devotees participated across the festival, exceeding the 2013 record.
- Security and safety measures included SDRF and NDRF deployments, boatmen and divers on the river, CCTV and drone monitoring, and changing rooms at ghats.
- Pilgrim inflows began late Saturday night and continued through Sunday, with heavy footfall at Shiva temples near the Sangam.
- The event was marked by a dispute involving Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati after police stopped his palanquin on Mauni Amavasya, and he skipped subsequent ceremonial baths.