PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 12 -- Preparations for the upcoming Magh Mela are underway, with more than Rs 16 crore allocated for infrastructure works. To ensure smooth movement for pilgrims across the sandy fairgrounds, the administration plans to construct nearly 200 kilometers of temporary roads using checkered steel plates, along with nine pontoon bridges and eight culverts. Surendra Singh, executive engineer, construction division-4 (Kumbh Mela), PWD, confirmed that these projects will be executed within the sanctioned budget. A survey of the proposed routes for laying the checkered plates will commence once the Ganga's water level recedes in the Sangam area. To manage the heavy influx of pilgrims, Indian Railways will operate direction-wise special trains from all nine city stations: Prayagraj Junction, Subedarganj, Naini, Cheoki, Rambagh, Jhunsi, Prayagraj Sangam, Prayag and Phaphamau. Divisional railway manager (Prayagraj) Rajnish Agrawal stated that crowd-management protocols successfully implemented during the Mahakumbh will be adopted for the Magh Mela. This includes colour-coded holding areas and ring rail services. Under color-coded holding areas, passenger zones will be identified via red, blue, yellow, and green color-coding. An emergency holding area will be established at Khusrubagh. Dedicated entry and exit routes will be enforced at all stations to regulate flow, monitored by a central control room at Prayagraj Junction. Along with this, a service will operate from Prayag and Prayagraj Junction, connecting pilgrims to key destinations such as Ayodhya, Varanasi, Chitrakoot, and Jhansi....