Haridwar, Aug. 17 -- Seven new Ganga ghats will be added to the existing network of more than 100 ghats in Haridwar ahead of the 2027 Ardh Kumbh, with the mela administration also planning to involve the corporate sector in the development and maintenance of select ghats, official said on Sunday. Three of the new ghats will be developed in the Kumbh Mela zone, while construction work on four other ghats in Haridwar is already under way, officials said. "Millions of devotees are expected to arrive during the four-month-long Kumbh fair in 2027. Additional Ganga ghats are being constructed under the Kumbh Mela budget. The proposal for three new ghats has been sanctioned and work will commence soon, while construction is progressing rapidly on four other ghats in Haridwar," said Kumbh Mela officer Sonika, who uses her first name. The new ghats will together cover about three kilometres and are expected to accommodate thousands of devotees at a time during the fair. Officials said the additional facilities would help reduce pressure on the existing ghats in the Har-ki-Pauri area, which witness heavy footfall during major religious gatherings. The mela administration has also decided to rope in companies under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to adopt, develop and maintain specific Ganga ghats. A committee headed by chief development officer Lalit Narayan Mishra has been constituted to oversee the initiative. "We have invited expressions of interest from the corporate sector under CSR to manage, redevelop, add facilities to and maintain specific Ganga ghats. We have received 18 proposals so far. Discussions are under way on various aspects of the initiative," Mishra said. He added that the selected companies would be responsible for the maintenance, conservation and improvement of the allocated ghats, while devotees would continue to have unrestricted access to them. Representatives of several industrial units based in the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand (SIIDCUL) areas have expressed interest in the initiative, officials said. Dr Sunil Kumar Batra, principal of Shravannath Muth Jawaharlal Nehru PG College, welcomed the move, saying private sector participation could help improve facilities and ensure regular maintenance and monitoring of the ghats. "This is a good initiative by the mela administration. The sanctum sanctorum of Brahma Kund at Har-ki-Pauri is managed by the Ganga Sabha. Similarly, private sector involvement can ensure better facilities, investment, maintenance and monitoring of the ghats throughout the year," Batra said....