Devotees take dip in Ganges on Makar Sankranti

Thousands of people on Friday took dip in river Ganges at dawn to mark the beginning of the auspicious festival of Makar Sankranti in parts of Uttar Pradesh. The occasion was the solar eclipse, regarded by Hindus as a crucial moment. Devotees in huge numbers made it to the Sangam also known as Prayag in Allahabad, as three Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati merge here which increases it's religious value. Meanwhile, scores of Hindu devotees were spotted taking dip in holy city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh also.