Ahead of Kumbh Mela 2019, Air India announces special flights to Prayagraj

NEW DELHI: To aid passenger travel during Kumbh Mela 2019, national carrier Air India on Friday announced new flights between Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. The flights will be operational from January 13 to March 30, 2019.

Earlier, low-cost carrier SpiceJet also announced daily flights between Prayagraj and Delhi from January 6 to March 30.

The Uttar Pradesh government also asked the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) to run 500 special buses from various parts of the state to Pragraj during the Kumbh Mela, a UP minister said Friday. Upendra Tiwari called upon Himachal Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to formally invite them to participate in the fair.  

Nearly 12 crore devotees are expected to visit the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj which will begin January 15. Touted as the biggest cultural and religious event in the world, the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj has been accorded the status of world heritage by the UNESCO. The event, which will conclude on March 4, has been included in the list of 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity.'

Representatives of 192 countries are expected to visit the Kumbh Mela.