ALLAHABAD, March 10: The world’s biggest religious festival concluded on Sunday with nearly two million pilgrims taking a dip in an Indian holy river that washed away the sins of 120 million people in the last 60 days.

The Kumbh Mela, celebrated every 12 years at the conjunction of two sacred rivers on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of Allahabad, drew massive crowds of devotees, ascetics and foreign tourists.

The two-month-long Kumbh Mela ended on the occasion of Mahashivratri, a major Hindu festival celebrated across India and Nepal.

Authorities at the festival on Sunday said the last batch of holy men marked the end of the Kumbh by plunging into the river Ganges and other pilgrims filled the “Ganga Jal” (holy water) in plastic bottles for religious ceremonies at home.

Many naked saints smeared their bodies with ashes and sand, chanted final prayers and departed from the venue.

“Over 60 million people attended the festival in 2001 and this time we believe 120 million people have participated,” festival chief Mani Prasad Mishra said late on Saturday.—AFP