Hundreds of thousands of Hindu sages and pilgrims gathered amid tight security today in the northern Indian town of Allahabad on the eve of the world's largest religious festival.
At its peak the 42-day Maha Kumbh Mela (Great Kumbh Fair), which begins tomorrow, will draw up to 30 million devotees seeking to wash away their sins where the holy Ganges and Yamuna rivers converge.
The current Maha Kumbh Mela - held once every 12 years - has been subjected to unprecedented security measures amid concerns of a possible attack by Muslim militants.
Mine-detector teams, navy divers and sniffer dogs have been deployed to secure the massive 5,000-acre (2,000-hectare) site.
"We have a very tight security system. Our primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of all pilgrims here," said Allahabad Senior Superintendent of Police Alok Sharma.
A closed circuit surveillance system will constantly monitor all areas of the site, where 5,000 local police will be reinforced by army personnel and intelligence officers.
The air force will also maintain aerial surveillance from two helicopters.
Around 30 people, most of them Hindu pilgrims, were killed during an attack by Muslim militants on a pilgrimage site in the restive state of Kashmir on August 1st.
As well as a possible attack, security officials are also concerned at the possibility of the kind of stampede that saw between 500 and 1,000 people crushed to death during a 1954 Kumbh Mela.
Another stampede killed 60 people during the last Maha Kumbh Mela in 1989, which The Guinness Book of Records described as the "greatest recorded number of human beings assembled with a common purpose."
As of Monday, an estimated 200,000 devotees had arrived in Allahabad, braving a cold snap that sent night-time temperatures plunging to close to freezing.
Preparations, which began months ago, have included building 27 pontoon bridges spanning the Yamuna and Ganges to allow freedom of movement.
Detailed lighting arrangements have been made, including the installation of 20,000 electric poles decorated with coloured bulbs.
Although, 6,000 public toilets have been hurriedly installed at the sprawling Kumbh Mela site, locals and environmentalists fear the event will dump tonnes of garbage and pollution.
Attendance on the most auspicious bathing day, which falls on January 24th, is expected to top the 30-million mark, while a total of 70 million devotees are expected to have visited the site by the time the event winds up on February 21st.
This time around, the Kumbh Mela is attracting attention for its political as well as religious significance.
Radical Hindu leaders are expected to use the event to announce dates for the construction of a Hindu temple - devoted to the god Ram - over the ruins of a mosque razed by Hindu fanatics in 1992 in the northern town of Ayodhya.
The destruction of the mosque triggered widespread Hindu-Muslim rioting that left 2,000 people dead.
The Indian government has appealed to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council - VHP) - the group spearheading the temple campaign - not to go ahead with the announcement, which is likely to inflame communal tensions.
However, Mahant Paramhans, a senior sadhu (holy man) who has been a high-profile torch-bearer for the temple's construction, said the appeals would be in vain.
"Have you ever seen us abiding by the rules set by the government?" Paramhans said. "We believe in respecting the sentiments of Hindus all over the world and nothing else."
A marble model of the proposed temple to be built in Ayodhya has been brought to Allahabad. Among the sadhus gathering here, the most revered are the Nagas (the unclothed) - dreadlocked, ash-covered ascetics who live in caves and forests, existing on herbs, roots and plants.
The Nagas will lead off the bathing ritual on January 24th.
AFP