Prayagraj: Flower petals being showered on devotees during the first ‘Amrit Snan’ at the Mahakumbh on Makar Sankranti festival, at Sangam in Prayagraj, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI01_14_2025_000584A)
Doordarshan (DD) has deployed about 40 cameras, including one mounted on a helicopter, and two on boats, to provide unprecedented coverage of the special “snan” (ritual dip) during the ongoing Mahakumbh at Prayagraj.
On January 13, a day before the Mahakumbh was officially launched on the first ‘Amrit Snan’ day, the public broadcaster provided a four-hour-long live coverage, which was followed by a 12-hour live telecast of the special “snan”. On January 29 (‘Mauni Amavasya’) and on February 3 (‘Basant Panchami Snan’) as well there is a plan to provide live coverage for 12 hours beginning 5 a.m., an official said.
The live pictures are telecast from the Jhunsi, Arail, and Sangam Nose areas. “Besides, DD News has been producing special stories on the Mahakumbh on a daily basis. The programmes are also being broadcast through YouTube and Prasar Bharati’s newly launched Waves OTT,” the official said, adding that DD Uttar Pradesh had also been broadcasting hour-long live coverage every day.
On January 8, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw launched two Mahakumbh songs produced by All India Radio and Doordarshan, including the theme song ‘Mahakumbh hai’ produced by Doordarshan and sung by Padma Shri Kailash Kher.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier launched a radio channel, ‘Kumbh Vani’, to disseminate information, including train schedules, related to the Mahakumbh. It has also been made available at the Mahakumbh site for the benefit of lakhs of devotees turning up every day for a holy dip.
Published – January 20, 2025 10:53 pm IST
