Hindu devotees arrive at the river Ganges to take a bath during the Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar on April 14, 2010. The Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious festival, which is held every three years and rotates among four Indian cities, attracts huge crowds of devotees who believe a dip in the river cleanses them of sin and frees them from the cycle of life and rebirth. AFP PHOTO (File picture)
Thirty-nine pilgrims were trampled to death and dozens injured when the religious festival was last held on the banks of the Godavari river in the city of Nashik, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Mumbai, in 2003.
“We have learnt lessons from that stampede and have changed the route for the‘Shahi Snan’ (main dip) to avoid tight alleys and steep slopes to the bathing ghats (steps leading to the river),” Nashik district information officer K. Moghe told AFP.
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