A sea of pilgrims converged at Sangam for a holy dip on Friday on the occasion of Basant Panchami joined by ascetics belonging to various sects for their third and last Shahi Snan of Maha Kumbh, where a sadhu was killed in a fire in the wee hours.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin said on Wednesday that the DMK will not oppose Hindi if it is not "imposed" on Tamil Nadu, stating that forcing the language on Tamils amounts to playing with their self-respect. Stalin's remarks come amidst an intense language row in the state, with the DMK alleging that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was trying to impose Hindi through the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP), a charge denied by the union government.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, amid reports of growing discord with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has issued a warning, stating, "Don't take me lightly." Shinde's remarks come amidst a series of events suggesting tensions between the two leaders, including the appointment of guardian ministers for Raigad and Nashik, the establishment of separate project monitoring cells, and Shinde's absence from several meetings convened by Fadnavis. The recent downgrading of police security for 20 Shiv Sena MLAs further fuels speculation of a growing rift. While both leaders have denied any discord, the events suggest a power struggle within the ruling alliance.
Security has been beefed up at all the sensitive places, including national capital New Delhi and Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, as a precautionary measure since early morning on Saturday after the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
In the midst of the ongoing controversy over Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's remarks on 'Hindu terror' and the offensive launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party and other Hindu organisations asking that the home minister be sacked, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will visit Allahabad for the ongoing Kumbh Mela which is currently on and has attracted crores of devotees. Renu Mittal reports.
The eight-week-long festival is beginning from Monday, in which thousands of devotees will bathe at the Sangam -- the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
They are protesting against the Centre's move to take over lands of Hindu muths and temples all over the country.
Security has been tightened in Haridwar for the first day of the Shahi Snan (Royal Bath) on Friday, as thousands of devotees are expected to take a dip in the River Ganga to mark the festival of Maha Shivratri. Around 10,000 security personnel have been deployed in Haridwar to thwart any kind of untoward incident when devotees, including ash-covered Naga sadhus participate in the festivities
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is finally off to United States to narrate the success story of the 2013 Kumbh Mela at the HarvardUniversityBusinessSchool on April 26.
The first 'shahi snan' of the ongoing Kumbh Mela began in Nashik on Saturday with thousands of devotees, including 'mahants' of various akhadas, thronging the ghats of the River Godavari to take the holy dip.
Over two crore Hindu devotees took their cherished holy dip at the 'Sangam' in Allahabad on Sunday on 'Mauni Amavasya', widely believed to be the most auspicious of all days at the 55-day long Kumbh Mela.
The hanging of Afzal Guru has prompted the Uttar Pradesh government to beef up security in and around the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, where nearly two crore people are expected to be converging over the next 24 hours to take a dip on what is considered the 'most auspicious' day of the 55-day-long festival that began on January 14.
Traditionally the biggest of all the sacred bathing days in the 50-day long Mela, Mauni Amavasya this time holds greater significance as it falls on a Monday and that too during the Kumbh - a rather rare combination on many accounts.
Four youths with suspected terror links who were allegedly conspiring to strike in the mela area were held by a joint team of Delhi Police Special Cell and Uttarakhand police on Tuesday night from Manglour town in Haridwar district.
The Maha Kumbh, a massive religious gathering in Prayagraj, India, is preparing for the culmination of its events with the Mahashivratri 'snan' (sacred bath) on Wednesday. Authorities have declared the entire mela area a 'no vehicle zone' and are urging devotees to take a dip at the ghat nearest to them to avoid crowding at the Sangam. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is monitoring the arrangements and has issued an advisory for devotees, outlining specific ghats for different arrival routes. The Maha Kumbh has seen a record number of pilgrims, exceeding 64 crore. Security arrangements are robust with over 37,000 police personnel and 14,000 home guards deployed. The fair has also been hailed for its cleanliness and safety measures. The event is expected to conclude with the Mahashivratri puja.
In the wake of mounting pressure from Sangh outfits, the MP government may take a fresh decision on the fate of the marketing contract with a Lintas subsidiary for Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain.
'I have no connection with the D (drug) world.'
A division bench of Justices A S Oka and V L Achliya said the state government will have to take prior permission from the court if it wanted to use the dam water for Kumbh Mela.
Raja Ram Tiwari has helped as many as ten lakh lost people find their family members in the confusion and clamour of such holy gatherings, says Sharat Pradhan
By any standards, the crowd was far bigger than what the festival has witnessed ever since it began on January 3.
A total of about seven crore Hindus are expected to converge in Allahabad.
Ahead of the Kumbh Mela from January-March 2019 at Prayag, the tanneries have been asked to shut down to stop discharge of effluents into the Ganga.
The Prayagraj airport in India is experiencing a surge in air traffic due to the Maha Kumbh, a major religious festival. The airport is handling an average of 40 non-scheduled charters and private jets daily, with figures reaching 70 on weekends. This is in addition to the average 148 scheduled commercial passenger aircraft operating daily. The airport recently received a contingent of about 180 politicians from Rajasthan and has seen corporate bigwigs like the Ambani brothers, Gautam Adani, and Pawan Munjal pass through. The airport has also hosted four international flights since the beginning of the Maha Kumbh, including a flight carrying Laurene Powell Jobs, the wife of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The airport is currently undergoing an upgrade and expansion, and officials are looking forward to the government's plans to integrate Prayagraj with the airports at Kashi and Ayodhya to promote tourism in the region.
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Violators will have to pay a Rs 2,000 fine for the first offence and Rs 5,000 if they defy this order for the second time, Ujjain Mayor Mukesh Tatwal said on Saturday.
Every 12 years comes a mystical, mind-boggling phenomenon. It is the Maha Kumbh Mela. Harvard experts map the exotic and the mundane at the spectacle. Arthur J Pais reports
With 100 million pilgrims expected to come in from all over the country for this bathing festival on Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government faces an uphill task to get the things moving smoothly after the tragedy during 'Mauni Amavasya' holy dip.
From disagreement over guardian minister's post to taking separate review meetings to separate medical cells and 'war rooms' for monitoring projects, the unease between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde seems to be growing.
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The stampede on the banks of Godavari River in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control.
The woman, Trikal Bhavanta, the Pari Akhara head, who entered into a samadhi on Tuesday for not getting facilities at par with male seers in the Mela, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of disrupting peace.
'For three months Raj Thackeray becomes a staunch Hindu and for the next three months he becomes anti-Hindu.'
The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, asking whether it disputed the Central Pollution Control Board's finding on high levels of faecal coliform being found in the water at various locations in Prayagraj during the ongoing Mahakumbh.
Indian origin Hindus living in Europe and US are mulling opening overseas chapters of Prayagraj-based 'Ram Naam Bank' in their countries. On the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday, the idea of opening a Ram Naam Bank was discussed among the devotees in Sweden.
The stampede at Gandhi maidan in Patna added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control Stampedes at temples and other religious places in India have claimed more than a thousand lives in the last 10 years in the country. Here is a look at some of the deadliest stampede to have happened in India.
'Adventure travel, cultural tours, and wellness retreats are in high demand.'
'Today, both in the hills and valley there is radicalised militant activity which poses a direct national security threat.' 'This kind of militancy in Manipur is unprecedented, I have never seen such largescale militancy in my life.'
He said Google failed before the epic Ramayana, which was written by sage Valmiki, and he asserted that the knowledge of the spiritual books was correct instead of what the search engine said.
'No other country other than India can do it on this scale.'
Masks were not worn by a large proportion and social distancing appeared impossible in an event in which, according to the mela administration, over 17 lakh people had taken a dip in the river in the first few hours up to 10 am.
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