With reports of eight fresh deaths on Thursday, the total toll in Bihar flood increased to 135, with Bhojpur district accounting for 12 deaths in the second round of floods due to the swollen Ganga.
The Akhil Bharatiya Kinnar Akhara is the 14th akhara at the Maha Kumbh.
It was BCCI that 'bought' Neeraj Chopra's javelin during e-auction in 2021
Sensing anger and unhappiness over the pathetic condition of the 'ghats' (banks) along sacred Ganga river ahead of Chhath Puja -- the most popular Hindu festival in Bihar, the state government has began a cleanliness drive and beautification of all ghats in Patna and outside.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
'It was about being part of something so much bigger than myself, witnessing millions coming together in faith, in the hope of something greater,' notes Nidhi Patel.
Devotees lit 21,000 lamps at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar, November 27, 2023, as they prayed for the 41 Indians trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi on Dev Deepawali.
Despite recent fatal stampedes at the Kumbh Mela and a Delhi railway station, pilgrims, driven by faith, continue to participate in the holy gathering in Prayagraj. Despite safety concerns, pilgrims from across India are undeterred by the tragedy and are taking the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam.
District officials said two pilgrims died on the spot and three, including the woman in the hospital.
Sticking to an age-old tradition, thousands of people in Bihar drank water from the Ganga, which is unfit for human consumption, during the recently concluded Chhath festivities.
Bihar Home Secretary Amir Subhani on Tuesday began an inquiry into the stampede that caused the death of at least 18 people, mostly children and women, during the Chhath festival at the Adalatganj Ghat on the Ganga River in Patna on late Monday evening, officials said.
He also received the country's first container cargo transported on inland waterways from Kolkata.
A livid Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked a representative of a private company to expedite a road project in Patna and even offered to touch his feet to speed it up.
The project will be similar to Marine Drive in Mumbai.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
At least 18 people including 8 children and 10 women, mostly devotees, died and several injured in a stampede during Chhath festival in Patna on Monday evening, the police said.
Several families continue their desperate search for their loved ones.
The Environment Ministry was hit by controversies in the year gone by which saw clearances for two big ticket projects -- POSCO and Lavasa -- and exit of Jairam Ramesh as the green minister.
"All the water related works will be merged under one ministry," Shekhawat said after taking the charge.
Hundreds of villages have been inundated and thousands of people stranded in Bihar after heavy rains lashed the state on Sunday. Water levels in Sone and Ganga rivers rose to alarming proportions, following the sudden release of 9.58 lakh cusecs of water from Bansagar dam in Madhya Pradesh, Rihand dam in Uttar Pradesh and Muhammadganj dam in Jharkhand.
The Maha Kumbh, the world's largest religious gathering, began in Prayagraj, India, with millions taking a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. Devotees from across India and the world converged for the 45-day event, which is considered to be a particularly auspicious one this year due to celestial alignments. The event is a major logistical challenge for the government, which has implemented several crowd-control measures and security measures to ensure the safety of the millions of pilgrims.
At least 22 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed on Tuesday and 8 others injured when a bus in which they were travelling fell into Ganga river at Kodiyala in Tehri district of Uttarakhand, police said.
In 1911, French pilot Henri Pequet flew the world's first official airmail, carrying over 6,500 letters and postcards, during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, now Prayagraj. The flight, which covered five miles in 13 minutes, marked a significant milestone in aviation and postal history. The mail included letters to Jawaharlal Nehru and King George V, and special commemorative postcards signed by Pequet are now prized collector's items. The event, which coincided with the Kumbh Mela, highlights the intersection of spiritual and technological advancements in India's history.
Noted environmentalist G D Agrawal, who is on "fast-unto-death" to press for cleaning up of river Ganga, was on Monday referred from BHU to AIIMS in New Delhi after his health deteriorated further.
Hindu leaders have approached the Indian embassy in Washington DC and urged it to approach the United States government to seek an apology from Fox News regarding its comments about river Ganges, which they found denigrating.Bhavna Shinde of the Forum for Hindu Awakening, in a communique to ambassador Meera Shankar, said, "Please take up this issue urgently with the appropriate authorities in the United States government, urging an apology from Fox News."
A breach in an embankment along the Ganga caused by recent heavy rainfall which threatened to inundate a large area and affect Maha Kumbh pilgrims in Allahabad, has been plugged by a 60-member team of Army's Red Eagle Division who worked through the night averting a disaster.
'It would have been impossible for any other country to manage such a vast crowd or accommodate the visit of so many devotees with such remarkable arrangements,' says Navin Mendon.
The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is underway with assistance from the World Bank.
Tourism ministry plans to float hotels on the river to boost tourism.
Telecom service providers and the Maha Kumbh Mela administration are on their toes to ensure smooth connectivity at the grand event set to witness record teledensity.
High nitrate levels have been found in groundwater of 440 districts across India, with 20 per cent of the samples collected exceeding the permissible nitrate concentration, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has said in a report.
Amid allegations that Swami Nigamanand was poisoned, authorities on Thursday took fresh sample for a second viscera test of the seer who died after a four-month fast against quarrying in Ganga river bed. A panel of doctors took a second viscera sample of Nigamanand at Matri Sadan ashram where his body was kept following a direction by Haridwar District Magistrate R Meenakshisundaram. The founder head of the ashram and his guru Swami Shivanand had given a written request.
The family of Swami Nigamananda, who died on Monday after a 114-day fast in the Bharatiya Janata Party led-Uttarakhand, suspect foul play behind his death. The seer slipped into coma while he was agitating for saving the Ganga River and checking illegal mining on its banks.
A boat, carrying about 60 passengers, capsized on Monday morning, killing 47 people, including 18 men, 15 children and 11 women. According to reports reaching Lucknow, 17 passengers managed to swim safely to the riverbanks. UP Additional Director General of Police Brj Lal attributed the tragedy to 'overloading'.
The Siang is a dramatic river that flows through a beautiful land. Rafting on it is a rare pleasure the state offers tourists, says Ajai Shukla.
One infant and 22 others, including some foreigners, were injured in a blast that rocked the crowded Shitla Ghat bank of the Ganga river in Varanasi , about 300 km from Lucknow on Tuesday evening.
Ahead of the Basant Panchami Amrit Snan at the Maha Kumbh, top officials are emphasizing the implementation of "zero error" directives to prevent a repeat of the deadly stampede that occurred during a previous snan. The Uttar Pradesh government has deployed senior IAS officers with experience in crowd management and inter-agency coordination to oversee the event.
Seers from various 'akharas' took the first 'Amrit Snan' at the Maha Kumbh on Makar Sankranti on Tuesday as an unbroken stream of people converged at the Triveni Sangam on the occasion with around 3.5 crore devotees taking a dip.
'One per cent of wealthy people have been handed over 99 per cent of our nation's resources. The rest are mute, helpless and very frightened spectators to this loot.'
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi may be well above 40 years of age, but his party activists on Friday insisted on disallowing anybody above 35 to enter the venue of a Youth Congress meet convened by him in Varanasi.
