Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said action will be taken in accordance with law, as he hit out at Congress leaders for going ahead with padayatra (march), demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river, by violating government's COVID-19 restrictions.
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.
After a gap of 65 years, the pious Makarsankranti dip at Gangasagar, the second largest after Kumbh Mela, will again take place during the evening hours on Tuesday, the Chief Priest of the Kapilmuni Temple said.
Braving scorching heat, a multitude of sadhus along with their disciples chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' took 'shahi snan' (royal bath) at Ramghat in Shipra river in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on Friday.
District officials said two pilgrims died on the spot and three, including the woman in the hospital.
The last auspicious day of the ongoing Kumbh Mela was full of action
'Hindus bathe with lakhs of people, but these Hindutvawadis were standing alone in the Ganges. Even Rajnath Singh and Yogi Adityanath did not find a place'
Sabarimala temple authorities decided to regulate presence of women of menstrual age in and around River Pampa during the aarattu (ritualistic bath) ceremony on March 23.
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This year, the festival is being celebrated amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and many devotees said that they prayed to Chhathi Maiyya to keep everyone safe from the virus. "I am keeping fast without water for four days. We will pray to Chhathi Maiyya to keep everyone safe from COVID-19," says Rinku Devi, a devotee, after taking a dip in the river.
The sordid details of the FIR filed against these companies for issuing fake certificates only reconfirm why the second Covid-19 wave in India came like a storm in the midst of the Kumbh Mela.
"People were walking on the footbridge when suddenly police charged with batons. Because of that baton charge, the public panicked and the stampede happened. In that stampede these people were killed," eyewitness Amit Kumar 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.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would be 'stopped' if he indulges in politics during his visit to the ongoing Mahakumbh next week, a senior leader from the ruling Samajwadi Party said on Wednesday.
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.
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.
Bansal said: "Till now death toll has reached 36. There has been no collapse of foot-over-bridge or any railing on the station. I want to clear that stampede occurred due to people reaching in large numbers. We had made arrangements before start of the Kumbh. We have come to know that people turned in large numbers resulting in stampede."
In a major mishap, at least 24 people are feared killed after a railing of the foot-over bridge collapsed due to excessive crowds at platform no 6 in Allahabad railway station.
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.
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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.
Coinciding with a religious festival of Hindus, the Pushkar camel fair is held during the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik when devotees visit Pushkar for a holy dip in Pushkar lake.
Braving the winter chill, thousands of devotees on Thursday took a holy dip in the Ganga in Haridwar heralding the start of the three-month-long Maha Kumbh, considered the largest religious congregation that takes place once in 12 years.
At least seven pilgrims were killed and nine injured, four of them seriously, when a stampede broke out at the Gangasagar mela in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal early on Thursday.
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The stampede occurred as thousands of pilgrims gathered in Kasiani of Gopalganj district, about 200 km southwest of Dhaka, to take a holy dip, the officials added.
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GetAhead reader Ajit Singh sent us pictures of his visit to the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, held from October 25 to November 2 this year.
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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.
Policemen were on their toes as heavy rush was expected on the day of "Aadi Amavasya" on Wednesday.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
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Coming after a gap of 12 years, the royal bath was accompanied by frenzied chants by Naga sadhus belonging to ten akharas (centres of congregation).
Travelling to Rajasthan this month and haven't planned your itinerary? We'll help you out!
She wanted to take a dip in the Shipra river in Ujjain and had secured an order from a court in Dewas district.
The ancient Ganga-Godavari-temple on the bank of river Godavari was later closed till next Kumbh mela to be held in 2027-28.
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