India, Aug. 17 -- The Nashik Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) will launch an awareness drive among contractors, cautioning them against unscrupulous elements who allegedly seek to deceive them by offering work for Kumbh Mela projects through fake work orders, officials said on Sunday.

The move follows the detection of eight bogus work orders, with two cases coming to light in April and six more uncovered earlier this week. "Contractors participating in the bidding process are aware of how genuine work orders are issued. Nevertheless, we will create awareness and advise them to mandatorily verify the details of any work order offered to them," NTKMA commissioner Sekhar Singh.

He said genuine work orders carry a QR code that dir...