In a first, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will chair a cabinet meeting of his ministers at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj this morning. The meeting, scheduled to at 11 am, will the first outside capital Lucknow for UP ministers.

The Chief Minister is expected to take a dip at the confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati - after the meeting.

CM Yogi will arrive in Prayagraj around 10 am and will the famous Hanuman Temple along with his ministers. Later, he will also visit Akbar fort with his colleagues.  

The Cabinet meeting will start at 11 am at the Prayagraj Authority Hall of Kumbh Mela area. After a meeting which is scheduled to last for an hour, Yogi will take a dip at the confluence. After lunch, he will meet Akhanda office bearers and saints visiting the Kumbh.

He will return to Lucknow after that.

The move is latest among the measures the BJP government has taken to promote the festival where over 12 crore people are expected to visit between now and March, when the festival will come to a close, for a holy dip at the Sangam.

The Kumbh Mela 2019 officially kicked off with 'shahi snan' on January 15.

Earlier, the state government headed by Yogi renamed Ardh Kumbh as Kumbh and the Kumbh as Maha Kumbh.

The government has allocated Rs 4,200 crore for the Kumbh Mela being held in the 'sangam' city of Allahabad, which is over thrice the budget of the Maha Kumbh in 2013, making the mega pilgrimage perhaps the costliest ever.

This year's Kumbh Mela is spread over an area of 3,200 hectare as compared to 1,600-hectare area in the previous melas.

The mela is expected to draw nearly 12 crore pilgrims over the course of approximately 50 days. The congregation includes Ascetics, Saints, Sadhus, Sadhvis, Kalpvasis and pilgrims from all walks of life.