The unprecedented congestion, which netizens called the “world’s biggest traffic jam,” reportedly extended up to 200-300 km and stopped traffic in MP.
A sea of vehicles, said to be stretching up to ‘300 kilometers’, transformed roads leading to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj into parking lots, with lakhs of pilgrims eager to attend the world’s largest religious gathering finding themselves stranded in their cars on Sunday, hundreds of kilometers away from the fair site.

The unprecedented congestion, which netizens called the “world’s biggest traffic jam,” reportedly extended up to 200-300 km involving vehicles of pilgrims headed for Maha Kumbh mela via Madhya Pradesh and prompted the police there to stop traffic in different districts on Sunday, leaving people stuck on roads for several hours.

“It is impossible to move towards Prayagraj today as there is a traffic jam of 200-300 kilometres,” the PTI report quoted police as saying.

Several videos on social media show massive queues of thousands of cars and trucks on roads across Katni, Jabalpur, Maihar and Rewa districts in MP.

‘Probably the biggest traffic jam in the world’

Eyewitnesses claimed huge traffic jams across a 250-km stretch from Katni to MP-UP borders at Chakghat in Rewa district.

Commuters took to social media over the congestion, with a user saying, “Traffic Jam of 15 KM before Jabalpur …still 400 KM to prayagraj. Please read traffic situation before coming to Mahakumbh!”.

The Maha Kumbh fair, which commenced on January 13 and will conclude on February 26, has drawn over 40 crore visitors from across the country and abroad for the sacred ‘Snan’ or holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati.