Devotees face ‘world’s biggest traffic jam’ extending upto 300 km; many stuck for more than 11 hours

Crores of devotees arrive at Prayagraj to take a holy dip in Mahakumbh 2025, which has been touted as the world’s largest religious gathering. Due to unprecedented congestion on routes to Prayagraj, several devotees are stuck in traffic jams for more than 11 hours.

The massive traffic congestion on routes leading to Prayagraj stretches up to 300 kilometres, as a large number of devotees arrive at Mahakumbh 2025. Several devotees shared their experience on social media, and many vented out their frustration towards mismanagement.

Don’t go to Prayagraj: Police tell devotees stuck en route to Mahakumbh 2025
Due to long traffic jams on routes to Prayagraj, several devotees have been asked to return to their home because of overcrowding. The police officials are announcing in Katni, a Madhya Pradesh city nearly 300 kilometres away from Prayagraj, to not visit Prayagraj, Dainik Bhaskar reported on Monday.

A large number of vehicles, most of them from Maharashtra and southern states, were stranded in Katni, Maihar and Rewa districts due to traffic jam.

Netizens shares Mahakumbh 2025 experience
A social media user, Bhaskar Sarma, shared his experience of attending Mahakumbh 2025, in a series of posts on X.

“Stuck in brutal traffic, with people saying there’s a 20 km jaam all the way to the Kumbh site. Would have gotten out and walked, except 27 kms under the hot sun and bad dust pollution might not be that optimal,” read one of the posts by Sarma on February 7.

“Stuck in traffic for past 3 hours on the way to Maha kumbh mela. No response from the concerned authorities to make the situation any better for all the people going through this ordeal. Would you request kumbh authorities to take required action,” commented another user on X.

Mahakumbh 2025: Prayagraj station temporarily shut due to heavy crowd
Amid heavy influx of public in Prayagraj, the city’s main railway station was temporarily shut due to heavy crowd. In light of the increasing crowd, the railway authorities on Sunday decided to temporarily close Prayagraj Sangam station. However, the train operations will run as usual but the station will remain shut for general public.