No reels, no selfies: Officials ban making of videos at Mahakumbh

Lucknow: People interested in making reels will not be able to shoot videos during the forthcoming Mahakumbh, a major Hindu pilgrimage on the banks of the ‘Sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers) at Prayagraj.

According to the sources, the administration has taken this decision for smooth crowd management during the pious event in which millions of devotees flock to the town for a holy dip at the ‘Sangam’. Mahakumbh will take place in January next year.

Sources said that the police personnel has been directed to keep a close eye on those taking selfies and making reels.

‘’The cameras and mobile phones of those who flout the rules will be confiscated and they will also be acted against,’’ said a senior police official in Prayagraj.

The officials said crores of devotees are expected to assemble near Sangam area in addition to seers and saints.

‘’Some places like the Sangam and other bathing ghats in the Mahakumbh area will be very crowded. The presence of reel makers and selfie takers at these places may create an uncomfortable situation,’’ said an official.

‘’Their presence may also affect crowd and transport management,’’ he added.

The officials, however, said that selfies and reel making would be allowed at places which are not crowded.

The ban comes close on the heels of the demand by the seers that only ‘sanatani’ (one who follows the sanatan dharma) officials be deployed at the 2025 ‘Mahakumbh’.

The demand was made by the All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), an apex body of the seers which represents the 13 ‘Akharas’. The ‘Akharas’, were formed by Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth century to unite the sages and seers and protect the ‘sanatan’ way of life.

The AIAP has also demanded a ban on ‘non-sanatani’ food stalls in the Kumbh Mela. It said that the sale of liquor and meat should also be banned in nearby areas.

Kumbh will be beginning at Prayagraj from January 14 and conclude on February 26.