What is the Maha Kumbh Mela and why does it attract millions of Hindus? - Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims exp

The Hindu festival that turned deadly in northern India on Wednesday is a religious gathering with deep spiritual meaning for devotees who come by the millions to take a cleansing dip in waters they consider sacred.

Many were feared dead after millions of Hindu pilgrims at a huge Hindu festival in India rushed to bathe in holy river waters.