Thousands celebrate Deep Daan Mahotsav in Rishikesh

Rishikesh (Uttarakhand), Nov.13 : Triveni Ghat at the holy town of Rishikesh was illuminated on Wednesday evening when thousands of lamps were lit by a large number of people to mark the Deep Dan mahotsav held on the occasion of Baikunth Chaturdashi.

This year most of the lamps were made of flour, which dissolve in water and not pollute it.

According to the Hindu mythology, lit Diyas (lamps) made Lord Vishnu to come out of his deep slumber on Vaikuntha Chaturdashi.

he occasion was organized on the eve of Kartik Purnima, when Dev Deepawali is celebrated as per Hindu almanac. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus converge on the banks of River Ganges on this occasion and mark the auspicious day by lighting earthen lamps and floating them in the holy river.

This year Deep Dan mahotsav was used as an occasion to spread awareness about River Ganga and the need to protect it from pollution.

"Our message to the masses was to light lamps made of flour, which after being burnt will not pollute the river. Soon after getting into the river, it gets dissolved in the water and will also become food for millions of fish in the river. This way we can avoid the river from getting polluted. I therefore request people who visit the place to make similar efforts to make their river Goddess free from pollutants," said Rajendra Sethi, the Organiser of Gangajal Swachcha Samiti (Clean Ganga Water Committee).

"Today this Deep Daan programme has been organised by the Gangajal Swatchha Samiti (Clean Ganga group) occasion of Vaikuntha Chaturdashi. The large number of crowd gathered here shows the belief of people in River Ganga and this will arouse a feeling among them to keep their river clean and fresh," said Kavita Saha, President of Women Group in Rishikesh.

People participated with full enthusiasm and also attended a cultural progammes organized here on this occasion.

"This is a great step to make the young generation aware to keep the River Ganga clean. It is to inform the tourists from all over the country and across the world about the need to keep Ganga pollution free. More such attempts should be made in future to keep this holy river clean," said Pramod Kumar, a devotee from Punjab.

The devotees also performed a special Ganga Aarti in the evening and for the onlookers, the tourists in particular, it was a dazzling sight. by Asheesh Goyal

ANI