Over eight lakh devotees from all over the country have so far taken the holy dip in the Ganges on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti on Sunday, officials said.
A large number of devotees are taking a holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers in Allahabad on the auspicious occasion of ''Mauni Amavasya'' on Sunday.
The work of manually extricating the bodies from heaps of rubble in Uttarakhand's worst flood-hit Kedarnath area was stopped on Sunday as no more body was visible to the teams engaged in the operation.
The Maha Kumbh began on Monday morning with lakhs of devotees as well as ascetics and religious leaders of various orders converging on the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati in Allahabad for a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Rediff.com takes a look at the grand preparations ahead of the mega festival, just 16 days away, as pilgrims and god-men have already started congregating at the holy site.
A day after her mortal remains were consigned to flames, ashes of the Delhi gangrape victim, who emerged as an epitome of woman's pride during her 13-day battle for life, were brought to her ancestral village by the family.
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.
Rediff.com takes a look at some stunning pictures of the previous Kumbh Mela festivities.
In the Northeast, while three people died in Assam, two each lost their lives in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in rain-related incidents.
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The group's digital news site had put out reports, along with pictures, on dead bodies of suspected coronavirus patients floating down the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which had led to nationwide consternation.
Most of the devotees have already left and the akhadas have been winding up their camps one after another.
The floods have affected 31 lakh people across 13 districts and also widely damaged crops in different parts of the state.
'What was the message that was going to them?' 'The message was, we are a great country and we have beaten Covid!' 'No one talked about the precautions to be taken.'
Building toilets, however essential, must not be confused with sanitation and the crying need for a revamp of India's sewage systems.
With four more deaths, the toll in Bihar floods on Saturday increased to 153, while 12 more panchayat areas were inundated affecting a total population of 34.69 lakh in twelve districts.
Bundelkhand is thought to be an area where Mayawati has some influence. Both Amit Shah and Shivraj Chouhan believe every weapon in the arsenal must be used to ensure victory.
The last time the Bachchans visited the city was a decade ago.
'If we want a better life, we have to treat nature better, and behave properly.' 'That's nature's message to us.'
There are just two more months left in the river rafting season. Catch it now!
The film also stars Bhamaa as the female lead.
Here is the chronology of major blasts in the country:
Paswan's daughter Asha Devi and her husband Anil Sadhu protested in front of the car of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi when he had come to receive the body of the Lok Janshakti Party founder. Sadhu is presently associated with Lalu Prasad's RJD.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told a rapturous crowd of NRIs that Persons of Indian Origin cardholders will get a lifetime Indian visa and that American tourists will be given visa on arrival.
Over 1.4 lakh jobs are estimated to be created between March 2019 and March 2021 in various central government departments, according to the Union Budget presented on Monday. The strength of government establishments was 32,71,113 as on March 1, 2019, which is estimated to increase to 34,14,226 by the first day of next month - an increase of 1,43,113, it said. The budget documents have given a break-up of the jobs estimated to be created in central government departments between 2019 and March 2021.
Had Finance Minister Sitharaman thought a little more about the middle class, disadvantaged sections, and the poor who are struggling, it would have been an inclusive Budget that would have made history, notes Ramesh Menon.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said if the people of Varanasi defeat Narendra Modi in the elections then no one will make him the next prime minister.
We invited readers to send in their interesting summer snapshots. Here are some more responses -- and you can share yours too!
Several Indian American organizations, including the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin--arguably the largest and most influential international medical group in the US--and leading Hindu leaders have blasted Fox News' conservative talk show host Glenn Beck for insulting medical care in India and joking that the holy river Ganges sounded like a disease.
Anil Madhav Dave is a known conservationist but may have to fight green allegations.
The vessel, with about 80 people on board, turned over in the fast-flowing water, a district police officer said.
Chhath, a festival to worship the Sun God, was celebrated on Saturday with lakhs of devotees, mostly women, thronging the ghats of numerous rivers in Bihar. The ghats of the Ganga, Kosi, Kiul, Bagmati, Kamla Balan, Gandak and Burhi Gandak, besides thousands of ponds, were thronged by worshippers, who offered prasad cooked in pure ghee and mixed with sugar, raisins, coconuts, flour, fruits and sugarcane. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's sister led the family in performing puja.
The Uttar Pradesh government suspended two policemen in Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor districts on Tuesdayand issued warning to others for getting into border disputes over bodies of Uttarakhand flood victims recovered from the River Ganga, a senior official said in Lucknow.
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"We have recovered the pistol from river Ganga. The accused told us that they have thrown the pistol in the river. We searched the location with the help of locals. The water was shallow and we recovered it," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) N S Bundela said.
With the recovery of 12 more bodies from the Ganga on Tuesday, the death toll in the boat tragedy in Ballia's Dubahar area has climbed to 57, police said.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
The popular treks to Gomukh -- the source of the Ganga, India's 'holiest of holy' rivers -- will not be as simple as it has been over the centuries.
Incessant rains pouring over parts of North India since the past few days led to more areas being marooned by swollen rivers as the toll crossed 100 in the region, with 14 more deaths in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Heavy rains continued to batter Uttar Pradesh, where 14 more people perished in rain-related incidents, taking the toll this season to 270 in the state. Over 1,000 villages, mostly in western UP.
