Nashik, Oct 22 An integrated official web portal for the upcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela, to be held in Maharashtra’s Nashik-Trimbakeshwar, is being developed to provide pilgrims and visitors with a reliable, single-point source of information for planning and navigating their Kumbh journey.
The Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) is developing the website, whose static version will be unveiled during a flag hoisting ceremony on October 31, said an official release on Thursday.
The flag-hoisting ceremony will mark the official start of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Nashik city and nearby Trimbakeshwar temple town. The mega religious gathering is a prolonged event, beginning on October 31, 2026, and ending in mid-2028. However, the most auspicious dates for ritual bathing occur in 2027.
The portal will initially establish the digital presence of Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela 2027 and provide foundational information. Dynamic functionalities, real-time updates and integrations with relevant systems will be introduced progressively as development advances, said the release.
Envisaged as a pilgrim-centric digital gateway, the website will bring together verified announcements, important bathing dates and timings, travel information, details of essential facilities, safety advisories and assistance resources, it said.
The portal is proposed to feature a dedicated information hub covering the spiritual significance, history, traditions and rituals of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh. Information on important temples, ghats, akharas, religious locations and pilgrim guidance will help visitors understand the significance of the event and plan their visit.
Travel and journey-planning information will cover air, rail, road and local transport options, along with guidance on reaching Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, around 30km away. As the platform evolves, it is envisaged to include information on parking zones, traffic diversions, entry and exit points, shuttle services, walking routes and transport options.
A structured directory of essential facilities is also proposed, covering toilets, drinking-water points, bathing facilities, medical camps, hospitals, police posts, help desks, lost-and-found centres, accommodation areas, food facilities, parking locations, bus stands and Railway stations.
Pilgrim safety will be a key component of the portal. A dedicated section is proposed to provide emergency contact details for police, fire services, ambulances, control rooms and other helplines, along with public health advisories, crowd-management instructions and information on prohibited items, stated the release.
As relevant systems and data feeds become available, the website is envisaged to support timely updates on traffic diversions, weather conditions, river-related warnings, crowd-linked information and other important public advisories.
The portal is being designed to support access across desktop and mobile devices, with optimisation for low-bandwidth conditions. The proposed multilingual framework aims to make essential information accessible to pilgrims from different parts of India and abroad. Accessibility provisions are also envisaged to support users with diverse needs, said NTKMA in the release.
The website is further envisaged to feature virtual tours of selected ghats, temples audio-guided experiences, video narratives and links to official live streams.
The official website will form part of a broader digital framework envisaged by NTKMA, alongside mobile applications and KumbhDoot, the proposed AI-enabled pilgrim assistance interface. These channels are intended to draw upon a common foundation of verified information and services, while the website will remain a widely accessible interface for pilgrims and visitors.
The platform will continue to evolve as its features, integrations and digital services are developed and introduced, added the release.
(PTI News)
