Ardh kumbh mela reaches its peak

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

Allahabad, Jan 10 (UNI) The ardh kumbh mela has reached its peak with the entry of Shankaracharyas and other eminent saints.

The first auspicious bathing of the month long ardh kumbh mela Paush Purnia had already taken place on January 3, about twenty lakh people had arrived and took bath here.

The first royal bathing-Shahi Snan- will take place on January 14 and 15 on Makar Sankranti during which the mela administration is expecting a rush of one crore devotees.

The second Shahi Snan will take place on January 19 on '' Mauni Amavashya '', the most auspicious bathing day of the mela.

The third Shahi Snan will take place on January 23 on the Basant Panchami festival. Mela administration is expecting a rush of one to two crore people.

Other bathings days are "Maghi Purnima" on February 2 and "Maha Shivratri" on February 16.

The mela in 7151 bighas of land is filled with the tunes of bhajans, hymns, pravachan, sermons and raas lilas in pandals.

The devotees from abroad are practicing yoga and attending the discourses of the spritual leaders.

About 500,000 "Kalpvasis" are residing in the mela area and taking advantage of the holy stream. Hindu mythology has given special significance to ''Kalpvas''.

According to ancient scriptures during Kalpvas pilgrims cleanse themselves of all bad deeds and sins.

The Scriptures also outlines various rules and code of conduct for ''Kalpvasis'' like taking food only once a day, daily offerings of pooja, sandhya jap, havan, welcoming of guests, ganga snan, darshan, dan and the like.

The mela administration is making elaborate arrangements to facilitate the ''Shahi Snan''.

Fourteen bridges have been constructed on river ganga for easy transport. National and international media is covering the event.

The congregations of the devotees from all over the world are visiting the other known places in the city like '' anand bhawan'', the ancestral house of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Patal Puri Temple, 130 feet high Shankar Viman Mandapam, Saraswati Koop and other interesting places.

The state government has allotted Rs 170 crores for ardh kumbh mela. The Indian railway and U P Road Transport Corporation are running special trains and buses respectively for the convenience of the devotees.

As many as 28 police stations, 35 police outposts, 26 fire station, 5 police lines and five missing and found centres have already been opened in the mela area including ten anti-sabotage team to keep vigil on the activities of suspected terrorists and anti-social elements.

Ten companies of PAC, three companies of BSF, 24 companies of CRPF, five companies of river police besides 11,000 jawans of civil police, homeguards have been pressed in duty.

To provide clean water for bathing 5000 cusecs of water is being released daily from Narora dam and various canals in river Ganga and Yamuna. The mela administration has claimed a rise of five centimetres in the water level of the Ganga. However, some of the pilgrims and saints complain that the water was highly polluted.

The nodal officer R N Tripathi has said that the administration was determined to provide clean water to the bathers.

UNI

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