Kumbh Mela: Millions of Indians prepare for holy dip.

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▼ Millions of people in the northern Indian city of Allahabad are preparing to bathe in holy waters as part of the world's largest religious gathering - the Kumbh Mela.
At least 15 million people are expected later at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical, subterranean Saraswati rivers.
Officials are preparing for 120 million people during the 49-day festival.
It is billed as humanity's biggest gathering and can be seen from space.
Hindus believe that bathing at the confluence of the rivers - known as the Sangam - will cleanse their sins and help them attain salvation.
The biggest draw at the festival are the Naga sadhus - the naked ash-smeared ascetics who arrive in massive colourful processions.
At the last Kumbh in 2013, female ascetics were allowed to bathe at the Sangam for the first time. This time, hundreds of transgender people will be participating.
More than a million foreign pilgrims will also take part in the festival, senior administration official Rajeev Rai told the BBC.
He and other organisers have been preparing for more than a year for the event, which dwarfs the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia.
"Last minute preparations are on. All the religious sects have been allocated time for their processions and bathing rituals," Mr Rai said. "We have devised a traffic plan to ensure there's no overcrowding. The mela area is open only to pedestrians,"
The mela (meaning "fair" in Hindi) has been held in Allahabad for centuries now, but it has grown into a mega event in the past two decades.

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This year the gathering will be particularly huge and many believe India's Hindu nationalist government has organised it with an eye on key general elections due in the summer. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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