E-Paper
Magh Mela ends with Maha Shivaratri bathing, over 4.15 lakh take holy dip
As the auspicious period for bathing started since morning and remained till late evening, people were seen taking holy dips in the Sangam and offering prayers to lord Shiva, all through the day
PRAYAGRAJ: The 47-day Magh Mela-2022 concluded with the last official bathing of Maha Shivaratri at banks of Sangam in Prayagraj, on Tuesday. According to Mela officials, over 4.15 lakh devotees took holy dip by 6pm.
As the auspicious period for bathing started since morning and remained till late evening, people were seen taking holy dips in the Sangam and offering prayers to lord Shiva, all through the day and even after the setting of the Sun.
According to Magh Mela officer, Arvind Kumar Chauhan, the last bathing festival of Maha Shivaratri also passed peacefully with no untoward incident being reported from the mela area.
He said by 11am over 1.80 lakh devotees had taken the dip in the holy waters and the count reached 3.40 lakh by 2 pm, crossed 3.80 lakh by 4pm and reached 4 lakhs by 5pm. Over 4.15 lakh devotees, including pilgrims and locals, had taken the dip at the six bathing ghats of Sangam area by 6pm, he added.
Meanwhile, several Shiva temples of Prayagraj witnessed a heavy rush of devotees with those in Civil Lines as well as the Mankameshwar temple near Saraswati Ghat, Padila Mahdeo, Mankameshwar and Takshakeshwar Nath temples witnessing long queues of the faithful.
A number of ‘Shiv Baraat’ processions were also taken out in various parts of the city, including Shivkuti area, keeping the decades-old tradition alive.
For the last bathing festival, heavy security arrangements were made by the officials.
District magistrate, Prayagraj, Bhanu Chand Goswami, accompanied by senior administrative and police officials, including IG KP Singh, SSP-Prayagraj Ajay Kumar and SP Mela Rajiv Narayan Mishra monitored the bathing and oversaw efforts of security personnel in maintaining social distancing and other precautions against Covid-19.
Members of the dog and the bomb disposal squads were also remained active in the mela area.
