4.5 lakh take holy dip on Makar Sankranti
First official bathing of Makar Sankranti sees a rush of devotees at Sangam, traffic diversions and stress on Covid protocol
A group of sadhus taking a holy dip in Sangam and praying to the sun god on the occasion of Makar Sankranti during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj on Thursday. Braving the chill and dense fog, about 4.5 lakh people took a dip on Thursday to mark the beginning of 57day mela.
PRAYAGRAJ: The 57-day Magh Mela commenced with the first official bathing of Makar Sankranti at Sangam here on Thursday amid a rush of devotees and traffic diversions at all entry points of Prayagraj.
Devotees, who had started arriving in large numbers from Wednesday itself, continued to arrive all through the day on Thursday, defying the winter chill and overcoming the fear of Covid-19.
Magh Mela Adhikari Vivek Chaturvedi said about 4.5 lakh people took the holy dip on Thursday.
Despite efforts and appeals to the pilgrims to observe social distancing and wear facemasks to prevent spread of Covid, most devotees driven by faith were seen violating the norms. However, lesser than expected rush of pilgrims this time helped the cause and the usual scene of pilgrims taking the dip shoulderto-shoulder at the bathing ghats was not visible.
Early morning fog also prevented
many from reaching the bathing ghats.
However, still thousands of devotees braved the chill to take a holy dip in the Sangam. But as the sun rose, its warmth brought relief to pilgrims and the rush increased on the bathing ghats. Hundreds of pilgrims from Sitapur, Faizabad and other districts sang devotional songs to the accompaniment of musical instruments like harmonium, cymbals, ‘chimtas’ etc in the camps after midnight.
“It is the best way to beat the cold and spend the night by reciting the name of god. Within a few hours, it would be dawn and pilgrims would be ready to take a holy dip in the river,” said Sharad Mishra, a purohit.
On Makar Sankranti, the sun transits into Capricorn, marking the beginning of its northward journey (uttarayan) ushering in the auspicious period for Hindus. Makar Sankranti bathing is the second important snan during Magh Mela after Mauni Amavasya, which falls on February 11 this year.
This time, announcements for following Covid protocols dominated the sounds of bhajan and kirtans emanating from the camps. Pilgrims were granted entry only after scanning of their body temperatures. The first bathing also marked commencement of the month-long kalpwas in the mela area.