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Ganga Dussehra: 2.5 million pilgrims take holy dip in Haridwar and Rishikesh
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived in Haridwar and offered prayers to the Ganga at Om Ghat on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra.
HARIDWAR: On Ganga Dussehra, over 2.5 million pilgrims took holy dip in the river Ganga in Haridwar and Rishikesh on Thursday, officials said.
By 1 pm, 22.5 lakh pilgrims from various parts of the country arrived at various Ganga ghats, prominently at the sanctum sanctorum of Brahamkund, Har-ki-Pauri. By evening, the number crossed 2.5 million, according to the Mela control room data.
“By 4pm, 25 lakh pilgrims had arrived in Haridwar on Ganga Dussehra. Traffic changes and Mela duty will continue on Friday also,” said senior superintendent of Haridwar police, Yogendra Singh Rawat.
From the wee hours, the pilgrims were seen moving towards Har-ki-Pauri and adjacent Ganga ghats on foot and vehicles.
National highway-58 (Badrinath Mana-Ghaziabad) , NH-72(Dehradun-Ambala) and Haridwar-Nazibabad highway witnessed heavy vehicular congestion near Haridwar city throughout the day.
Such was the footfall of pilgrims that by Wednesday evening, all the hotels, dharamshalas, ashrams, lodges, guest houses and home stay rooms were fully booked.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also arrived in Haridwar and offered prayers to the Ganga at Om Ghat.
He also met Jagadguru Shankaracharya Raj Rajeshwaram Maharaj at his Kankhal-based ashram.
Wishing the people on Ganga Dussehra, the chief minister said, “I wished for the prosperity of people of the state on Ganga Dussehra. The state government is also taking steps to ensure better facilities for the convenience of Char Dham pilgrimage”.
Many organisations and social workers organised free distribution of water and juice to people on Ganga Dussehra.
Early this week, on the occasion of Somvati Amavasya, over 3.5 million pilgrims, the highest since Mahakumbh 2021 Shahi Snan (royal bathe), arrived in Haridwar.
