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It is quarter to 10 pm on Thursday. A group of more than a dozen pilgrims, tired after a nearly 30-km walk to and from Triveni Sangam, take a rest for a while on the side of a road near a mustard field on the outskirts of Prayagraj.
It is still eight km for them to find the next transport bus and reunite with fellow devotees from Rajasthan at Beli Kachar for their onward journey.
Ghanshyam, one of the pilgrims, told PTI, "We have been walking from Triveni Sangam as no transport was available. Police officers helped us at a crossing but after that, we found no water, tea stalls or transport options along the roadside."
Devotees continue to face transportation challenges, with many forced to walk long distances in search of transport.
The Maha Kumbh, considered among the holiest Hindu pilgrimages held once every 12 years on the banks of Triveni Sangam, started on January 13 and will continue till February 26. So far, nearly 30 crore devotees have taken a dip at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati in the ongoing mega-spiritual gathering.
Some had initially gone to the bus stand but said they could not find any transport.
"The police are assisting the devotees in boarding private vehicles but the drivers are refusing to move ahead unless they get long-distance passengers," Baboolal, another devotee who claimed he walked for several kilometres, said.
"We took a dip at Sangam at midnight and have been walking since morning. A long, tiring travel still awaits us," he said.
Suresh, a pilgrim from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan said his group completed their Maha Kumbh bath. They had heard about the stampede during Mauni Amavasya but they did not appear to be deterred by the tragedy which killed 30 people and injured 60.
After the Maha Kumbh, they planned to visit Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi and the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
A new route, opened before Maha Kumbh, connects Stanley Road to Malaka Chauraha and is known as the "Steel Bridge Route".
Many pilgrims said large parking areas have been set up in Beli Kachar, about 10 km from the main city, to enable pilgrims to easily park their vehicles before they are cleared to proceed to Triveni Sangam through any available transport or else on foot.
There are small shops and toilets near the parking areas but the entire 10-km stretch, with sections of both paved and unpaved roads, from there to the city generally remains deserted.
Several ordinary devotees were seen walking long distances on foot because not everyone was lucky enough to find the much-in-demand shuttle or e-rickshaw.
A policeman engaged in assistance duty near the Beli Kachhar Parking 2 told PTI: "All vehicles are being parked here and from here devotees are mostly proceeding to the ghats on foot."
Anup Verma, who brought an elderly pilgrim from Guwahati to Maha Kumbh, recounted his ordeal. "Our car was parked 15-20 km away in Sahanason. On Thursday, we somehow reached Bank Road but all routes were barricaded, leaving us with no transport. We had to walk all the way," he told PTI.
"An elderly man in our group fell ill on the way. We somehow reached Sahanason hungry and thirsty. We could board our car on the highway only after the traffic cleared," he added.
Thousands of pilgrims returning from Maha Kumbh remain stranded at Varanasi Cantt and Banaras railway stations. Some devotees said they missed their trains due to the rush while others were stuck because of train cancellations.
Bobby Maya Limbu from Sonitpur in Assam said she had visited Maha Kumbh with her group and taken a holy dip at Sangam on February 26 before travelling to Ayodhya. She reached Varanasi on February 30. "Our train was on Thursday but we missed it due to the heavy crowd," she said.
Dinanath, a devotee from Gaya, said he and his family had been stuck in Varanasi for two days. "On Thursday, we tried to board our train but it was so crowded that we felt suffocated and had to get off," he said.
Since then, they have been staying at a shelter outside the platform.
Prayagraj District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar said on Thursday evening, "All devotees (who had come for Mauni Amavasya) are returning. The police have been instructed to remove diversions and barricades. There will be no restrictions on vehicle entry on January 31, February 1 and February 4."
He added that diversions would only be in place on February 2 and 3 for the Basant Panchami bathing festival. "There is a separate process for vehicle entry in the Mela area, which will be communicated by the fair authorities and the DIG," he said.
"There are no vehicle restrictions in Prayagraj Commissionerate," he added.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Prayagraj Ajay Pal Sharma told PTI on Friday that the traffic situation in the district had returned to normal.
"Apart from the usual additional traffic due to Maha Kumbh, the situation is under control. We are coordinating with various departments to ensure a smooth traffic flow and regulating it at critical points," Sharma said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Shailendra Singh Parihar said, "We are focusing our resources on major crossings, which also serve as entry points for incoming traffic. Congestion has been observed in areas like Gohania."
He added that restrictions on external vehicles had been lifted. "Vehicles from outside can now reach designated parking areas in Maha Kumbh. We are also regulating their movement," Parihar said.