31 October at Ramkund: No Direct Entry for the General Public, Up to 1 Lakh Expected for a Ghat That Holds 30,000 to 35,000; 100 to 150 CCTV Cameras, Two Control Rooms, Full Rehearsal Held
Ordinary devotees will not get direct entry to the Ramkund area during the 31 October flag hoisting and Goda Aarti; only VVIPs and special guests will, Navbharat reported on 28 October. Police expect 80,000 to 1 lakh people against a Godaghat capacity of about 30,000 to 35,000, so citizens will be seated from Devmamledar ground to Rokdoba ground, watched by 100 to 150 CCTV cameras and two temporary control rooms (Sakal). The district administration held a full rehearsal on 27 October; the programme still needs approval from the President's office, and Rashtrapati Bhavan has not published her itinerary.
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Three days before the flag hoisting, the police and the district administration have filled in how the crowd at Ramkund will be handled on Saturday 31 October. This follows our 27 October report on the road closures and the President's route. REPORTED: everything below comes from Navbharat (28 October), Sakal (26 and 27 October) and ETV Bharat (27 October). We have not seen a police order or an official programme on these points.
No direct entry to Ramkund for the general public
- Crowd estimate: 80,000 to 1 lakh people are expected at the Godavari for the flag hoisting and the Goda Aarti. The Godaghat can hold only about 30,000 to 35,000 (Navbharat).
- Entry: ordinary devotees will not be allowed straight into the Ramkund area. Only VVIPs and special guests will get in. The Navbharat report counts about 6,500 aarti participants and their families, about 30,000 special invitees, and followers of various organisations.
- Where citizens sit: VIP seating will be on both sides of Ramtirth, and seating for citizens will run from Devmamledar ground to Rokdoba ground (Sakal).
- Parking: the parking grounds and walking routes are the ones already in the police notice; see our parking and traffic story. Navbharat also names Ashok Stambh, B.D. Bhalekar ground and Amardham Road for public parking, and Malegaon Stand to Makhmalabad Naka and Vallabhpeeth Ashram for VIP vehicles.
CCTV, control rooms and police
- 100 to 150 high-quality CCTV cameras are being installed on the Godaghat through Smart City, within two days, DCP (Zone 1) Monika Raut told Sakal.
- Two temporary control rooms: at Leva Patidar Bhavan and at the Sardar Chowk police post.
- Barricades from Friday 30 October: roads leading to the Godaghat will be closed with barricades from Friday, she said.
- Traffic police: about 700 traffic police from the State Highway Police and other districts are coming in, on top of about 190 from the city's own traffic branch, close to 1,000 in all (Sakal, 26 October).
The rehearsal, and why the programme is not final yet
The district administration ran a full rehearsal on 27 October, on Kumbh Commissioner Shekhar Singh's instructions to 32 departments. Sakal's schedule had it starting at Nashik airport at 9 AM and ending with a final run at the aarti site at 5:30 PM. At Ramkund, Additional Collector Hemangi Patil checked the yajna kund, the Gautami Godavari temple, the flag mast and the aarti site (Navbharat).
The draft order of events at Ramkund, as reported: about 10 minutes of yajna, then about 5 minutes of Gautami Godavari puja, then the flag hoisting at 12:02 PM.
This is still a draft. Sub-divisional officer Arpita Dubey will send a detailed report to the Collector. It then goes to the President's office for approval, after which a special security team will inspect the venue and the final programme will be fixed (Navbharat). Rashtrapati Bhavan has still not published the President's itinerary.
The President's day, as Sakal reports it
- About 9 AM: arrives at Ozar airport, then by helicopter to the Maharashtra Police Academy.
- About 11 AM: by road from the Police Academy to the Godaghat; after the flag hoisting at Ramkund, back to the Academy.
- By helicopter to Trimbakeshwar for darshan, then back to the Academy.
- About 5 PM: back to the Godaghat by road for the Goda Aarti, then to Ozar and on to Delhi.
Sources differ on two points. The police notice put the aarti at 7 PM and earlier reports said 6 PM or 6:45 PM; Sakal's itinerary has the President reaching the ghat at about 5 PM. And on who raises the flag at Trimbakeshwar, Sakal (27 October) says Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while Sarkarnama earlier said the Shankaracharya, with the President doing the Godavari puja at Kushavarta (our Trimbak plan story). The official programme should settle both.
Released on the day: two postage stamps
ETV Bharat reports that the President will unveil special postage stamps showing Ramkund and Kushavarta Tirtha (with the Brahmagiri hills behind it) on 31 October. They are designed under India Post's "My Stamp" scheme. The Kumbh website, anthem and coffee-table book are also due that day.
What this means for you
- Do not plan to stand at Ramkund at 12:02 PM unless you have an invitation. Aim for the public seating between Devmamledar ground and Rokdoba ground, and get there early.
- Expect barricades and closed roads from Friday 30 October. Park at the listed grounds and walk.
- Timings can still change once the President's office approves the programme. Check our Dhwajarohan 2026 page on the day.
