Preparing for one of the world’s largest religious gatherings takes months of planning and hard work. Starting on January 15, 2019, and lasting until March 4, 2019, the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela will take place in Allahabad, India. Authorities are expecting approximately 100 million visitors to come for a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers. Preparations include the construction of 22 temporary pontoon bridges for the millions of pedestrians, vehicles, and animals about to arrive on the riverbanks. More than 1,700 floating steel pontoons are now being repaired, built, placed, and capped with decking, as thousands of workers prepare for the event.
The Pontoon Bridges That Carry Millions at Kumbh Mela
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Hindu devotees walk across pontoon bridges as they leave after a holy dip at Sangam—the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers—during the Maha Kumbh festival, in Allahabad, India, on February 10, 2013. #
Manish Swarup / AP -
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An Indian laborer welds part of a pontoon for a bridge across the Ganges river in Allahabad on June 27, 2018. The floating bridge is being made as part of preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela festival, scheduled to begin in January 2019. #
Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP -
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Hindu devotees cross a bridge as they prepare to bathe at Sangam—the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers—to mark the auspicious Basant Panchami festival during the annual Magh Mela in Allahabad on January 24, 2015. #
Sanjay Kanojia / AFP / Getty -
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A pilgrim reaches for the water while bathing as others cross a bridge at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers during the Ardh Kumbh Mela festival on January 18, 2007, in Allahabad, India. #
Mario Tama / Getty
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