Kumbh Commissioner Shekhar Singh: Permanent Works by About 1 March, 5,000 Buses, 15 km of Ghats; Official Kumbh Website to Go Live on 31 October

With eight days to go before the 31 October flag hoisting, Kumbh Mela Authority Commissioner Shekhar Singh gave a long interview to the Marathi daily Prahaar (published 23 October 2026, by Suhas Shelar). He set out where the works stand and what the plan is. The figures below are his, as reported in the interview. We have not seen an official document with the same numbers, and some differ from earlier plans (see "Sources differ" below).

Timeline

• The flag will be hoisted at the 12:02 PM muhurat on 31 October at both Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.
• Works total about ₹35,000 crore, and Singh said about 85% of them are permanent.
• He said most permanent works are halfway done or further. The deadline is about 1 March 2027, and some sewage treatment plants will be commissioned by April–May.
• Temporary works such as Sadhugram, parking and toilets have also begun.

Ghats, Sadhugram and crowd numbers

• 12–13 new ghats are being built. In Trimbakeshwar a new ghat at Pegalwadi Prayagtirth will be about 2.5 km on one bank, about 3.5 km counting both.
• He said the total length of ghats will go from about 7.5–8 km to 15.5–16 km.
• Sadhugram in Nashik will grow from about 320–330 acres last time to about 1,300 acres, almost four times as large. In Trimbak it will grow from 15–20 acres to about 250 hectares.
• He expects four to five times as many devotees as at the last Kumbh.

Getting there

• 13 entry points: 9 highways into Nashik and 4 routes into Trimbak, with parking both inside and outside the city.
• About 5,000 MSRTC buses.
• With the Railways, Odha, Kasbe Sukene and Kherwadi stations are being developed for trains from the north, and Devlali and Nashik Road for trains from the south. Special trains are planned.

Crowd and safety

• "Hold and release" crowd control, more than 50,000 police, and more than 15,000 volunteers trained with Bhosala Military Academy.
• He said the recommendations of the Ramani committee, set up after the 2003 Nashik stampede, have been studied.
• A consortium of IIM Nagpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Tirupati is running crowd simulations.
• More than 5,000 CCTV cameras, 18 AI use cases and a digital twin. More in our crowd management explainer.

Water and sewage

• Nashik is getting 486 MLD of sewage treatment capacity in four plants, built under PPP-HAM with 25 years of maintenance. Work started in July 2025. Trimbak gets a 6.5 MLD plant.
• More than 300 km of new sewer lines under AMRUT, and 19 nalas intercepted.
• Trimbak gets a 10.5 MLD water treatment plant. He said Mukane dam's 274 MLD reservation will be used in full, about 50–60 MLD of it for the Kumbh.

Heritage and temples

• Ramkal Path linking Kalaram temple, Sitagumpha and Ramkund. A Shivdarshan Path in Trimbak with waiting halls on the Tirupati model.
• The ASI is restoring Naroshankar and Sundarnarayan temples and the Ajagareshwar samadhi. Kushavarta is being restored in two phases, and about six kunds, including Prayagtirth, Bilvatirth and Indrakund, are being developed.
• On the Goda Aarti, he said the Purohit Sangh's tradition will continue, other groups will take part, and there is now agreement.

Official Kumbh website on 31 October

PTI (via Lokmat Times) and UNI reported on 22 October that the Kumbh Mela Authority is building an integrated official website:

• A static version with basic information will go live at the 31 October flag hoisting.
• It will start with the spiritual meaning of the Kumbh, its history, temples, ghats, akharas, and how to reach Nashik by air, rail and road.
• Parking, diversions, entry and exit points, shuttles and walking routes will be added in phases, along with real-time updates.
• The web address has not been announced. Be careful with sites that claim to be "official" before then. We will add the link here once it is live.

Sadhugram link road goes to standing committee

Pudhari reported on 22 October that a ₹32.53 crore proposal for a 30-metre road went before the NMC standing committee that day. The road runs from Janardan Swami Math (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Road) via the Laxminarayan temple bridge to Dream City Chowk, linking the Nashik–Pune highway with the Sambhajinagar road.

• The Kumbh Mela Authority gave ₹36 crore administrative approval.
• 11 bids came in and 6 were eligible. M/s B. T. Kadlag Construction was chosen at 10.10% above estimate, with a work cost of about ₹26.11 crore.
• The road is on the police commissioner's "A" priority list. It serves Sadhugram, Laxminarayan Ghat, Kapila Sangam Ghat, Tapovan, Ramsrushti and the procession route.
• The committee's decision has not been reported yet. Pudhari's headline says "sanctioned", but the report itself only says the proposal was placed before the committee.

Sources differ

• Buses: Singh said about 5,000. The Authority's June 2026 transport plan said 4,500.
• Sadhugram: Singh said about 1,300 acres. Earlier reports said about 1,380–1,400 acres (see our Sadhugram acquisition report).
• New ghats: "12–13" here, against 12 in earlier reports.

What this means for you

• Target dates for roads, ghats and sewage plants now run to March–May 2027, a few months before the first Amrit Snan on 2 August 2027. See the dates page.
• From 31 October, the official website should be the place to check parking and diversions as they are added.
• If you are coming from the north by train, keep an eye on the Odha, Kasbe Sukene and Kherwadi stations. See our how to reach guide.