Bathing ghats for Kumbh Mela to have police chowkies, changing facilities, watch towers, sanitation facilities

Nashik : The Nashik Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) is constructing 12 new ghats along Godavari River - 10 in Nashik city and two in Trimbakeshwar - having all facilities for pilgrims."The ghats are where Simhastha actually happens. Every other piece of infrastructure — the roads, the parking, the health facilities — exists to bring the pilgrim safely to the ghat and back. We are expanding and upgrading the ghats on both sides of the Godavari to ensure that the scale of Simhastha 2027 is matched by the infrastructure on the ground," said Shekhar Singh, commissioner, NTKMA."As part of infrastructure preparations for Simhastha Kumbh 2027, the ghats being developed along the Godavari will significantly expand the bathing and ritual space available to pilgrims thereby ensuring lesser crowding and maintaining a steady flow of the pilgrims," another senior officer from NTKMA said.The work is being executed by Nashik Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC), and the Water Resources Department (WRD), and is expected to be completed well before the mela begins.In Nashik, there will be total of 20 ghats, including the new 10 that are under construction and cover about nine km of distance. A total of 3451 meter ghat length will be added in Nashik city alone at the cost of Rs361 crore.Similarly, in Trimbakeshwar, the new ghats will add a total length of 3140 meter at the cost of Rs 146 crore to the existing length."The ghats will not just be an open space but are being designed to serve the purpose including well defined holding capacity of the pilgrims, police chowkis, watchtowers, dedicated entry-exit routes, emergency access, and parking connectivity. Changing rooms, sanitation facilities, and lighting are part of the standard design. A standardised naming and boundary system is being established across all ghats to ensure seamless coordination between departments during the mela," the officer said.Proposed Ghats — Nashik1. Kapila Sangam Ghat — 400 m2. Nandini Sangam Ghat — 275 m3. Takali Sangam Bridge Ghat — 400 m4. Takali Sangam Ghat — 300 m5. Nandur Dasak Left Bank — 500 m6. Nandur Dasak Right Bank — 570 m7. Odha Ghat — 255 m8. Someshwar Waterfall Ghat — 174 m9. Navashya Ganpati Ghat — 167 m10. Lakshminarayan Ghat — 410 mTotal: 3,451 mProposed Ghats — Trimbakeshwar1. Left Bank — 1,614 m2. Right Bank — 1,526 mTotal: 3,140 m