Devotees queue up to take holy dip on Mauni Amavasya

Lakhs of devotees today took a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya in the ongoing Maha Kumbh congregation at the Sangam. The day also marks the second Shahi Snan of sadhus belonging to various Akharas.

According to a rough estimate by officials, the number of people to have taken a dip by the crack of dawn appears to be “not less than two million” and the final turnout may exceed the projected estimate of three crore.

Devotees started arriving at the bathing ghats along the banks of the Ganga since last night itself as the special celestial configuration which makes Mauni Amavasya auspicious has been in place since yesterday afternoon.

The 12-yearly Maha Kumbh congregations are known to reach their climax, in terms of turnouts, on Mauni Amavasya and the administration has made arrangements expecting nearly three crore visitors this year.

Tight security arrangements are in place with more than 15,000 security personnel drawn from central paramilitary forces like ITBP, CRPF, BSF and RAF besides the Uttar Police and its Provincial Armed Constabulary and Anti Terrorist Squad keeping a close vigil.

The star attraction of the day remains Shahi Snan of the Akharas – orders of martial ascetics established by Adi Sankara — which proceeded, in turns, towards the holy river’s confluence with Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in majestic processions.

The Maha Kumbh witnesses altogether three Shahi Snans, the first of which took place on Makar Sankranti (January 14) and the third and last is scheduled on Basant Panchmi (February 15).

There are altogether 13 Akharas belonging to various sects and each of them have been allotted specific time, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, depending upon the size of their procession.

While the elderly went through the rituals observing a vow of silence (the word Mauni is derived from maun which means silence), others watched the sight of swords and spears wielding ‘Naga’ ascetics moving about with ash smeared on their bodies.

While the ‘Naga sadhus’ are reaching the venue from their respective camps on foot, their leaders known by honorifics like Shri Mahant and Mahamandaleshwar cover the distance perched atop richly-decorated chariots with musical bands playing devotional tunes. Make-shift roads have been laid down with the help of metallic chequered plates with barricading on both sides to ensure that the ‘Shahi Snan’ processions go on without any inconvenience.

Sonia Kumbh visit cancelled due to “want of co-operation”
The proposed visit of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to the ongoing Maha Kumbh has been cancelled due to “want of cooperation” of the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh in making security arrangements, the

“We felt upset upon receiving information last night that the state government has expressed its inability to provide the necessary security arrangements for Sonia ji’s proposed visit,” Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Kishore Varshney said.

Modi unlikely to attend Maha Kumbh
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to attend the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on February 12, apparently due to “security reasons”, sources said today.

Earlier, sources had indicated that Modi would be travelling to Allahabad on February 12 to take a holy dip at the ongoing religious congregation.

“There is a question mark on the visit of the chief minister to Allahabad now. It seems that the rethink is due to security reasons,” a source said.