Bhopal, Aug 6 : Madhya Pradesh Urban Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Wednesday that the preparations for traditional Simhastha mela 2028 in the religious city Ujjain has been speed-up.

The Minister made this statement after attending a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at his office.

"With divine grace of Lord Mahakal, the holy of city of Ujjain is moving towards a divine chapter. Preparation for Simhastha has begun and the city has started adorning itself with devotion, services, and development," Vijayvargiya said on social media platform X.

The Minister told that decisions are being taken step-by-step keeping the safety of devotees as well as sadhus and sanyasis from all 18 Naga Akharas from across the country.

He said that the development works are being carried out in a swift manner.

"During the meeting, detail discussions were held on progress of development works being carried out for Simhastha-2028 in Ujjain, and necessary instructions were issued to the officials," he wrote on X.

In a previous meeting held last month in Ujjain, Chief Minister Yadav had directed that all work related to the Simhastha be completed by June 2027, and that monthly reviews be held.

The ongoing development works includes widening the roads and lanes of Ujjain, which has seen a rising influx of devotees since the establishment of the Shri Mahakal Lok.

The Chief Minister had also stressed that walking distances should be minimised and e-vehicles be deployed.

Disaster and fire management are to be the top priorities.

Seven major routes leading to Ujjain city have been approved to be developed, as four lanes and one major route as a six-lane road.

The Chief Minister has directed that work on these routes be expedited.

Ujjain's Simhastha Mela is organised after a gap of 12 years, and a large number of devotees during the month-long festival.

The Madhya Pradesh government is expecting to receive nearly 15 crore pilgrims this time.

In 2016, during the last Simhastha, 75 million people had been part of the month-long gathering.

/IANS