‘A nightmare’: Hindu devotees battle separation anxiety as 150 million people gather for India’s Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious festival

A state-of-the-art police command centre, 15 lost-and-found camps, and 3,500 loudspeakers help reunite friends and family separated in the chaos

Many find their way back to their families, while some are stranded at the lost-and-found centres for weeks, and others use the festival to dump elderly relatives or unwanted children

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Devotees at the Sangam ritual bathing site in Uttar Pradesh, India. Photo: AP

Published: 10:45pm, 25 Feb 2019Updated: 12:22am, 26 Feb 2019

Meghsingh Badouria, 75, found himself freezing in his underwear after losing his clothes and his friends following a dip in the holy waters at the world’s largest religious gathering, India’s Kumbh Mela, which is expected to draw crowds of up to 150 million.

He won’t be the only one. In the cacophony and chaos of the vast religious festival, it’s easy to get lost among the millions upon millions of Hindu devotees.

“I got separated from my villagers and went to the Sangam (the holy confluence of rivers) and gave my bag to a stranger to look after while I went to bathe,” Badouria told AFP.

“When I came back my bag was nowhere to be seen ... It was early in the morning and it was cold,” he said.

But help is at hand: There are 15 lost and found centres around the Kumbh Mela grounds, a dusty maze of tents the size of Manhattan thronging with people from mid-January until early March.