MahaKumbh 2025: Training was given from telling the specialty of the city to talking to the tourists, Prayagraj is ready to welcome them

Preparations for the Maha Kumbh are in full swing in Prayagraj. Many efforts are being made to welcome the devotees during the Maha Kumbh. Special preparations are being made by the Tourism Department to tell the devotees coming here about the divinity and grandeur of Prayagraj. The department is running a special training program for this. Under this, guides, taxi drivers, vendors, and sailors who take tourists on a city tour are being trained. So that all of them can provide better hospitality to the tourists coming to the city.

Batches of 60-60 trainees are being formed and training is being given.

Regional Tourism Officer Aparajita Singh says that the Tourism Department has signed an MoU with Kanshiram Tourism Management Institute Lucknow and another institution for this, under which training is going on. This program has been started to provide a better experience to the tourists. This training program is being divided into four categories and training is being given by forming batches of 60-60 trainees. A special training module has been created for each category.

Training director Prakhar Tiwari says that the guide training program is a five-day program. Our effort is to increase tourism retention. Tourism sensitization is also the goal. In this program, trainees are given information about different tourist points of the city. Trainee guides are also trained on how to do storytelling to tell the specialty of a tourist point. Information is given here about the mythological, historical, and religious features of every tourist spot. How to tell this information to the tourist in an interesting way is also taught here. During this time, if a tourist's health deteriorates, then training is also being given on how to give him first aid.

Similarly, taxi drivers are also being given special training. They are being made aware of digital payment. They are being taught how it is completely safe and how it can be used. Aparajita Singh says that the tourist visiting the city first knows the city from the taxi drivers. Therefore, they are also being trained on how to behave with tourists.

Along with this, taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers are being told about the resolution of plastic-free Kumbh. So that they can tell the tourists sitting in their taxis or rickshaws that this Kumbh is plastic-free Kumbh. Therefore, tourists should not use plastic anywhere. Along with all this, taxi and rickshaw drivers are also being informed about traffic rules. Similar training programs are also being run for boatmen and vendors of the fair area.

4200 people will be trained

The tourism department is working with the target of training a total of 4200 people in different categories. Their number is different in different categories. These include 600 boatmen, 600 vendors, 1000 guides, and 2000 taxi and e-rickshaw drivers. Regional Tourism Secretary Aparajita Singh says that out of these, the department has trained 608 vendors so far. Similarly, 360 sailors, 451 taxi drivers, and 871 guides have received training. The training of guides is in its final stage. On Saturday, the guide training of a new batch of more than 60 people started. Similarly, the training of taxi drivers and sailors is also being done in different batches.

The trainees are also excited.

The trainees who have come to participate in this training program are also taking a lot of benefit from it. Sanchi Mishra, who took the five-day training guide, says that through this training she got to learn how she can give better information to the tourists coming to Maha Kumbh. Along with this, the information from the administration about the different routes from Shahi Snan to route diversion on normal days will be very useful for her. Similarly, Ambuj Shrivastava says that after this training he came to know what skills a guide should have. Through this training, he also got information about many newly developed tourist places. These include places like Shivalaya Park and Nishad Raj Park. Achyut Kumar Shukla says that they will get the benefit of this training not only during Kumbh but also after that.

Trainers shared their experiences.

Dr. Pushkar Tripathi, who is training the trainees on health and hygiene in this training program, says that in this program, the basics of health and hygiene were understood and the small things and their nuances were told. Along with this, the trainees were also given training in CPR. Gaurav Srivastava Masto, who is training the trainees in storytelling, says that the story affects all of us. The effort is to tell the story of this place in a better way. Because if the story is told in a better way, then the tourist coming here will also go away happy and if he has to pay two hundred rupees, then he will go by paying two hundred and fifty rupees. Assistant Professor Manish Kumar is also involved in giving training here. Manish says that our effort is that our trainees can tell the tourists about the Maha Kumbh and the culture of Prayagraj in a better way. So that the tourist coming here wants to come even after the Maha Kumbh. Prakhar Tiwari says that the positive effect of the training we have given till now has also started showing.

Rejuvenation of tourist places

The program of rejuvenating the different tourist places of the city is in its final stage. The tourism department has done beautification work along with development work in many temples. The construction work of the corridor of Bhardwaj Ashram is almost complete. Here also the beautification work is being finalized. Along with this, basic facilities have also been improved in Aalop Shankari Temple, Pandeshwar Mahadev, Mankameshwar Temple, and Dashashwamedh Temple.