On the fifth official bathing of Maghi Purnima in the ongoing Magh Mela around 55 lakh devotees took the holy dip in Sangam on Wednesday.
The auspicious period of the bathing which commenced at 9.31pm on Tuesday extended till 7.16pm on Wednesday witnessed devotee crowd all through the day at all the bathing ghats besides Sangam nose area.
District officials led by district magistrate Suhas L Y and SSP Akash Kulhari visited different parts of the mela to keep a tab on bathing. Army and RAF personnel also maintained vigil in all sectors of the mela all throughout the day.
Since the bathing on Wednesday signified end of Kalpwas, a major section of the crowd staying at the mela for past one month is expected to leave the mela from Thursday onwards while some would remain till the sixth and last bathing of Shivratri on February 14.
{{/usCountry}}Since the bathing on Wednesday signified end of Kalpwas, a major section of the crowd staying at the mela for past one month is expected to leave the mela from Thursday onwards while some would remain till the sixth and last bathing of Shivratri on February 14.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike previous four bathing when pilgrims, kalpwasis and saints had to brave extreme winter chill during morning hours, during Magi Purnima bathing, the weather remained pleasant with bright sunshine.
Traffic diversions enforced from Tuesday morning onwards preventing heavy vehicles from entering city limits will continue till Thursday.
As per reports made available by District Information Office in the past five bathing which commenced from January 2 onwards, over five crore devotees took the holy dip in Sangam and no major untoward incident was reported in the month long mela so far.