Preparations for the Mahakumbh, slated to begin on January 14 , may still be far from complete but the state information department claims to be ready to welcome around 10,000 journalists from India and abroad who are expected to cover the event.
According to Dr Ashok Sharma, media incharge for the Mahakumbh, around 4,000 journalists from states other than Uttar Pradesh and nearly 3,000 journalists from abroad are expected to converge in Allahabad to cover the biggest religious congregation that is taking place after a gap of 12 years.
More than five crore people are expected to visit the Kumbh next year that will begin on January 14 and end on March 10.
According to an information department official, a media centre that can accommodate about 600 media persons will be set up on the Mela ground.
A press conference room where visiting dignitaries and VIPs will be able to interact with the press, broadband connections, 50 computers with Internet facility, 10 printers, 10 scanners and two dozen telephone lines and faxes are also being lined up for the scribes. For the audio-visual media, a sound-proof studio for recording and uplinking facility will also be provided for the electronic media. Three cameras would be installed from which footage would be uplinked on an FTA (free-to-air) basis and five hi-tech editing machines would be provided.