NEW DELHI As many as 20 million Hindus from throughout India are due to converge on the central Indian city of Allahabad next week in a mass washing away of sins.

The Hindus' bid for divine salvation will occur during the six-week Kumbh Mela festivities, billed as the world's largest gathering of people, with hordes of devotees taking a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

The festival starts on January 9 and ends on February 21. but the most important of the six designated holy dates falls on January 24, when nearly 20 million people are expected to bathe at the "Sangam" (confluence) of the three rivers.

The Purna Kumbh Mela (fair) is held at Allahabad every 12 years when the sun enters the northern Meridien to herald the greatest gathering of the devout. This rare event of the sun and moon being in conjugation is considered auspicious by Hindus.

Besides Allahabad, the Kumbh Mela is also held in Haridwar on the banks of the Ganges River, Nasik in Central India and Ujjain in the northwestern State of Rajasthan. The Kumbh in these areas are held every three years.

But the biggest is the one held at Allahabad, an ancient Indian city with a history going back more than 2,000 years.

The last Kumbh at Allahabad in 1989 attracted more than 15 million people.

The place where the three rivers meet, called "Sangam", has been dredged to maximize the number of worshippers who can take a dip at one time.

Over the years, silt has reduced the size of the Sangam from its original 1.5-kilometer stretch to a mere patch.

The Sangam cannot hold more than few hundred bathers at a time.

This has dismayed many Kumbh veterans and local priests, who say salvation can be obtained only by bathing at the holy spot.

But over the years, a 5-kilometer stretch of the river on either bank of the confluence has been declared to be equally holy.

The festivity has created a huge support system to take care of the comfort of the pilgrims. Watched over by nearly 15,000 policemen and an army of officials and medical teams, a new tented township has sprung up on the riverbanks.

The area will have more than 100 government-owned shops selling food grains in a bid to avoid hoarding. About 30 large screens have been erected at vantage points to keep the pilgrims abreast of developments and functions.

Three new warehouses have been erected, each of which will stock 400 tons of flour, rice and kerosene for the devotees.

The infrastructure for the festival has been laid out on an area sprawling over 12,000 acres along the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

With its civic and sewerage services already stretched to the limit, organizers will have their hands full accommodating the millions of visitors.

The origins of the festival lie in the ancient belief in the conflict between the gods and demons over the possession of the "Amrit Kumbh", a pitcher filled with nectar.

After the churning of the "Kshir Sagar" -- the milky ocean -- jointly between the gods and demons, there arose a dispute between the two sides.

The legend says one of the fleeing gods whisked the pitcher from his pursuers, and on his way to heaven he rested at Prayag, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain, where some drops of the liquid fell. He took 12 days to complete the journey, which equals 12 human years.

The history of the Kumbh is at least 1,300 years old. It was revived by the Hindu ruler Harshavardhan, who used to undergo penance every 12 years at Prayag where he donated all his worldly possessions.

In recent history the festival has been marred by two major tragedies. During the 1954 festivities at Allahabad nearly 800 people were crushed to death. At Haridwar in 1986 about 175 people were killed in stampedes.

The Haridwar tragedy was attributed to the visit of senior government officials during the crucial bathing hours. The moving human mass was stopped to let the VIPs pass. Pressure from the rear triggered the tragedy.

The Allahabad organizers this time have requested important visitors not to visit the area on the six main bathing days. If they do, they are to be treated the same as everyone else.

A special feature of the Kumbh Mela is the presence of hundreds of ascetics of the different Hindu orders, who march to the river in procession on the main bathing days.

(DPA)