INDIA, March 9, 2025 (Indian Express): The Maha Kumbh may be over for pilgrims and the Akharas, but for the government authorities, a mammoth task awaits: dismantling the temporary city spread over 9,884 acres on the banks of the Ganga. According to various authorities and agencies involved in the uninstallation and cleanup, while the deadline to bring the entire area back to how it was is March 20, the processes — a third-party verification, dismantling and inventorying — means the deadline could be pushed. Authorities have to dismantle, clean and store away about 200,000 tents, over 150,000 portable toilets, 269,000 chequered aluminium plates used for laying roads, about 80,780 miles of water pipeline, over 56,000 water taps, 80 temporary tubewells, over 52,000 electric polls, over 70,000 LED lights, over 80,780 miles of sewage pipes, over 800 signages, 2,700 CCTV cameras and 31 pontoon bridges. It also means dismantling about 23 hospitals and first-aid posts.

Authorities then have to ensure one more major task is completed — ensuring water quality in the area is up to the mark, especially since the National Green Tribunal previously pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government over it during the Maha Kumbh. “There are various steps and different levels of monitoring —uninstallation, verification, preparing and tracking US$114.7 million-worth of inventory. We have set a target of 15 days to bring the city back to Ground Zero. Then, we will need to pass the zero-discharge test of the NGT,” Vijay Kiran Anand, the Mela Adhikari, said. Another massive task is uninstalling pontoon bridges built across the Mela city. There were 31 such pontoon bridges – temporary structures built by making large and hollow containers called pontoons float on water – and the responsibility for their dismantling lies with the PWD, officials said. But the most consuming task, according to Surendra Singh, a PWD executive engineer, is dismantling 404 miles of road built with metallic chequered plates. “Over 200,000 such plates were used to lay down about 404 miles of roads in 25 sectors of the Kumbh Mela area.

More at source.
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/maha-kumbh-is-over-now-for-the-hard-part-dismantling-mela-city-over-4000-hectares-9876308/

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