Each night, copious amount of DTT insecticide are sprayed on the streets of the festival ground. It makes the eyes sting but everyone breathes this toxic smog. The use of DDT is normally illegal but it is exceptionally permitted for mosquito control at the Kumbh Mela, where sanitation is poor and epidemics caused by insect-borne diseases would be even more dangerous than DDT itself.

Photo taken at the Kumbh Mela 2013 festival near Allahabad (India)

Kumbh Mela is the largest festival on Earth, taking place once every 12 years, with more than 50 million Hindu pilgrims gathering to pray and bathe in the holy Ganges river.

For more photos and info about the Kumbh Mela festival, read the album description.