By any standards, the crowd was far bigger than what the festival has witnessed ever since it began on January 3.
The Tamil Nadu government had appointed advocates P S Nagarajan and K S Ramasamy as special public prosecutors for the case, which was transferred to Pondicherry by the Supreme Court on a petition from the seer last year.
Even the saffron-clad Swami Hari Chaitanya, who was spearheading the much-hyped 'Clean Ganga' campaign, eventually gave up his boycott call.
Since early Sunday morning, people from different parts of the city and adjoining areas were seen entering the nearly 30 bathing points (ghats) from four entry gates amid tight security arrangements by the administration.
Police said the Govardhan Peeth, the seat of the Sankaracharya of Puri, was not the target.
Security was tight at the mela ground as policemen kept a close watch from towers and through CCTVs.
Authoroties attributed the pollution to the lowered river level on account of reduced flow of water from the frozen source of the rivers in the Himalayas.
Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati was on Thursday denied entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram for performing early morning poojas to the presiding deity.
"Though I was not physically tortured, I was mentally and psychologically tortured in police custody. The police officials induced me to speak over mobile to several persons, which I declined with folded hands," he was quoted as saying by NDA MPs.
"Though I was not physically tortured, I was mentally and psychologically tortured in police custody. The police officials induced me to speak over mobile to several persons, which I declined with folded hands," he was quoted as saying by NDA MPs.
First Class Judicial Magistrate G Uthamaraj extended the remand till Dec 23 through the video-conferencing facility from the Chengalpattu sessions court.
Over ten lakh devotees witnessed the world famous annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath held in Puri on Sunday with fanfare, religious fervour and enthusiasm amid tight security as the practice of people climbing the chariots was stopped in a major reform initiative.
The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the state of Tamil Nadu on a petition filed by K G Kumaraswamy alias Appu, prime accused in the Sankararaman murder case.
A hundred dancers perform the Isai Vani Natyanjali to songs sung by the legendary singer, the late M S Subbulakshmi.
The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is underway with assistance from the World Bank.
In his application, Vijayendra said he apprehended arrest following the alleged confessional statements made by Appu and Ravi Subramaniam, both accused in the case.
He expressed his concern over recent reports of sexual abuse of children across the country and said that there was an urgent need to have in place an effective deterrent regime.
A two-day-long 'Dharma Sansad' convened by the Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwarka Peeth has passed a resolution that Sai Baba, the 19th century saint from Shirdi, should not be worshipped as a deity by the followers of 'Sanatan Dharma'.
Mutt advocate A Shanmugham told the \nthe Special Investigation Team probing the cases against the Kanchi seers that the summons were not legally enforceable.
He also demanded that Ganga Sagar, a place of Hindu pilgrimage, be declared a holy place like Haridwar
Appu, alias Krishnasamy, was interrogated in a hotel in Mamallpuram in Kanchipuram district throughout Sunday night.
Principal Sessions Judge P Murugesan dismissed the bail petition saying it was not maintainable.
The HC rejected the seers' bail application on Wednesday.
The police questioned two Kanchi Mutt officials in connection with the assault on former Mutt official Radhakrishnan
"It was not a decision I took happily. But circumstances compelled me to do my duty," said the Tamil Nadu chief minister.
K Premkumar, heading the investigation into the Sankararaman murder case in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi has been arrested, has been brough back as the SP, Kanchipuram.
An application in this regard will be moved before Kanchipuram First Class Judicial Magistrate G Uttamarjan when the senior pontiff is produced before the court, mutt officials said.
Economist and author Devaki Jain mourns the loss of her good friend, Girish Karnad.
'The Ganga must be kept above all divisive politics,' says Uma Bharti.
The warrant would be executed on April five, the judge said.
A bonfire lit by some devotees to beat the cold could have spread to bushes at the foot of the Kailash hill, atop which several VIPs, sadhus and sants were staying in tents.
In his application, the seer apprehended that he would be 'maliciously' and 'falsely' named in the case with an 'ulterior motive'.
Earlier in the day, the magistrate had extended the judicial remand of Ravi Subramaniam, who had turned approver in the case, till February 3.
Listed cos begin appointing women directors
The move is widely seen as a fall out of the Supreme Court granting bail to Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati in the Sankararaman murder case.
The seer had spent two months in custody in connection with a murder case.
The Supreme Court will give its verdict on the bail application of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati in the Sankararaman murder case on Monday.
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