Lakhs take holy dip in Haridwar, Rishikesh

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 24

Lakhs took a holy dip in Ganga on occasion of Ganga Dussehra in holy city of Haridwar on Thursday.

Pilgrims from the northern parts of the country started pouring in Haridwar. A majority of ashrams, hotels and dharamshalas were packed to capacity accommodating a large influx of pilgrims.

With the break of the dawn, the pilgrims started taking the holy bath in the Ganges. A scramble could be seen among the pilgrims to take holy dip at Har-Ki-Pauri, the most sacred ghat in Haridwar. Rush of pilgrims could also be seen at Subhash Ghat, Kushavrat Ghat and others.

As per mythology, the Ganges descended on the earth from the matted locks of Lord Shiva on the very Ganga Dussehra day. Hence, Ganga Dussehra keeps immense significance for followers of Hinduism. The dip in the holy Ganges on the Ganga Dussehra day is believed to absolve one from all the sins. Besides the customary dip, a large number of pilgrims could be seen performing special worship at Brahmakund in Hari Ki Pauri under the guidance of priests.

The Haridwar district administration and police had made elaborate security arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of Ganga Dussehra proceedings. The administration had specially deployed divers along the ghats as precautionary measure to deal with any emergency like situation.

Due to a large inflow of pilgrims, traffic snarls were also witnessed on the Delhi-Haridwar highway as motorists had a tough time as vehicles moved at a snail’s pace due to traffic congestion. Inner roads of Haridwar city also had serpentine queues with long traffic jams.

In the neighbouring holy township of Rishikesh also pilgrims were no less enthusiastic. They preferred taking holy dip in the Ganga in Rishikesh that is considered quieter than it is at Haridwar.  Among the VIPs, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Suresh Khanna too turned up at Rishikesh to take part in Ganga Dussehra celebrations.