55m devotees join Hindu mega festival in India

ALLAHABAD, Feb 05 (AFP): Some 55 million Hindu devotees plunged into holy waters to cleanse their sins and seek salvation over the busiest days of the world's largest religious gathering, officials said on Tuesday.

The gigantic crowds thronged the confluence of three rivers, one of them mythical, in northern India over Sunday and Monday.

The Mauni Amavasya -- or new moon day -- on Monday, is the most auspicious day of the 48-day Kumbh Mela festival.

Numbers were bigger than expected and now over 120 million people have visited the Kumbh since it began in mid-January, more than were expected for the entire festival running until March 4.