Haridwar town is the gateway to the abode of Gods - the , 'Uttarakhand' region of 'Uttar Pradesh'. The mythological and religious importance of Haridwar is well known. The 'Kumbh' and the 'Ardh Kumbh' fairs are held periodically, every twelveth and sixth year in Haridwar ,when a large number of pilgrims and devotees converge to commemorate this divine event. According to astrologers, the 'Kumbh Fair' takes place when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries.According to mythology , 'Devas' (Gods) and 'Asuras' (Demons) churned the ocean to obtain Nectar and when the coveted 'Kumbha'(pitcher) of Nectar (Amrita) which gave immortality was obtained from the depths of ocean, one of the 'Devas' whisked away the 'Kumbha' from the 'Asuras' and evading from the 'Asuras', stopped at four places viz. Hardwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik and Ujjain before he finally arrived into the safety of heaven. A few drops of Nectar are supposed to have spilled over on the water at these four places and sages, saints and piligrims started periodically to flock to each of these 'Tirthas' to celebrate the divine event. In fact , it is a unique event that blends religious and social features alike.

It will be the last Maha Kumbh of the 20th century. For the one crore-plus devotees who will take a holy dip in the River Ganga during the mega-event beginning on January 14 at Haridwar, it will be more than a pilgrimage of a lifetime. Located 250 kms away from Delhi, accessible by both rail and road, Haridwar is one of the seven sacred cities of India where the Hindus congregate round the year to bathe in the Ganga, particularly at Hari-ki-pauri. By custom, tradition and deep-rooted belief, special significance is attached to the holy dip in the Ganga during the Kumbh fair.

Recorded history is witness to the fact that the Kumbh festival has been celebrated since even before the second century BC. The first written evidence about it was scripted by the Chinese traveller Huen Tsang. His texts, dating back to the 7th century, mentions the presence there of the Buddhist and Jain monks as well as the Hindus.

This tallies with the Hindu belief that Lord Shiva has instructed the heads of his four 'maths' to always meet at the Kumbh mela to discuss the mutual affairs and that is how the Sadhus of every denomination congregate from all over the country. The Kumbh is not without its spiritual debates and disputes of divinity. Though there may be many in modern times who would prefer to make no distinction between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, there is a constant confrontation between sanyasis and bairagi "akharas" insist on priority in order to have the "shahi snan" (celebrated bath).

Kumbh, the largest celebration of any kind in the world, takes place once every three years by rotation. The site rotates between four places. The site rotates between four places: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Ujjain and Nasik. "Mahaamaham" at Kumbhkonam in Tamil Nadu is also considered to be the extension of Kumbh celebrations.

Bathing Dates

According to available information, the bathing festivalsstart from 'Makar Sankranti' and the main bathing festival being the 'Mesh Sankranti'. One of the main features of the 'Kumbh Festival' is the bathing ritual of the 'Shahi - Akharas'. The main bathing dates are finalized after consulting with the 'Akharas' and other religious organisations.

S.No.	Name of the festival	Tentative date
01.	Makar Sankranti	14th January '98
02.	Basant Panchami	01st February '98
03.	Magh Purnima	11th Febuary '98
04.	Maha Shivratri	25th Febuary '98 (Ist Shahi Snan)
05.	Chaitra Amavasya	28th March '98 (2nd Shahi Snan)
06.	Nav Samvatsar	28 / 29th March '98
07.	Ramnavmi	05th April '98
08.	Vaishakhi	13th April '98
09.	Mesh Sankranti	14th April '98 (Main Bathing Day)
10.	Vaishakh Amavasya	26th April '98
11.	Akshaya Tritiya	29th April '98

Period :

The Kumbh Mela period is from 1-1-1998 to 30-4-1998.

The Number of Piligrims-An Estimate : It is estimated that the forth coming Kumbh Mela is likely to be attended by over 10 million pilgrims.All the preparations have been done to cater to this large number of devotees. It is estimated that on the main bathing Festival about 6 millions pilgrims will arrive in Haridwar. According to estimates, about 0.6 million piligrims would arrive by train, about 0.4 million piligrims would arrive before the main bathing day and rest about 5 million pilgrims would reach Haridwar by road.

Mela Planning :

Sectors:
The Mela Area has been divided into 31 administrative & planning sectors. All the sector plans have been prepared showing the detailed layout plan & facilities ear marked for the sector therein. A temporary township of makeshift tents and huts has already sprung up around the river Ganges to accomodate the devotees. D.S. Constructions have developed a residential colony - Amrit Ganga Appartments

Free Circulation Area:
Keeping in view the past experiences, the area in and around Hari-ki-Pauri has been kept free from any camping / built up areas.Thereby more free circulation areas have been created in & around Hari-ki-Pauri. Extension of Ghats:
The Irrigation Deptt. and private Ashrams/Organisation have built/extended 1.5 km and 2.0 km long bathing ghats respectively on either side of the Hari-ki-Pauri. Thus more bathing area will be available to the devotees.

Modern Communication & Security Systems:
Modern communications & security systems are being used for the fast flow of information and for providing the security cover to the piligrims.

Creation of Permanent Assests:
While preparing different construction projects, it has been taken care of that more & more works are of permanent nature,so that permanent assests are generated which are of use to public even after the mela - period is over.

Computerization:
The record , documentation and monitoring of the projects is being done with the help of Computers.Thus a Computerised Data Base would be available in future.

After the successful completion and handing over of Amrit Ganga Phase I, D.S. Construction now introduces Phase II, an even more prestigious project that maintains the latest international standards in construction. Incorporating state of the art technology, well planned, self-contained, modern, spaciously designed residential apartments with a facility of easy payment plan have been constructed and are ready for posession. The project has been duly approved and sanctioned by the Haridwar Development Authority. This thoughtfully designed, self-contained residential complex is only two and a half kilometers from Har Ki Pauri. Each apartment has been spaciously designed with optimum utilization of space and with the choice of one, two, three room apartments designed for comfort and convenience. The apartments have a provision of outside value added facilities like STD/ISD, Provision store, Security arrangements, well maintained landscaped area with a children's park, internally linked metal roads, exclusive car parking, a temple, round the clock water supply and lifts