Lakhs offer prayers at KVD after Maghi Purnima dip

Varanasi: Lakhs of devotees took a dip in the Ganga on the auspicious occasion of Maghi Purnima on Wednesday. Most pilgrims reached Kashi either before going to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh or after returning from there, keeping the roads leading to Kashi Vishwanath Dham flooded.
The queues in the vicinity of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, which expanded over several kms since Tuesday morning, shrank to Godowlia on one side and Chowk on the other. However, by midnight more pilgrims started joining them again. To ensure that the maximum number of pilgrims succeeded in offering prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple, temple authorities kept the doors of the Garbhgrih (sanctum sanctorum) open until 1 am and after preparing it for Mangla Aarti reopened it after 2.30 am. However, the queues proved to be unending.
In the early hours of Wednesday, before the Maghi Purnima bath started at ghats, which were heavily crowded from Assi to Namo Ghat, the length of the queues stretched again up to Visheshwarganj on the Maidagin side and Dashaswamedh on the Godowlia side. The officials ensured the maximum crowd was diverted to join the queues formed at the ghats to enter Kashi Vishwanath Dham via Ganga Dwar.
The police, who were working hard on crowd and traffic regulation, had more tasks on Wednesday as the crowd of locals for the Maghi Purnima bath, Ravidas Jayanti celebration, and Peshwai procession of Juna Akhada Sadhus also took place. The officials, including Commissioner of Police Mohit Agrawal, Divisional Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, District Magistrate S Rajalingam and Additional CP Chanappa, could be found running from pillar to post to monitor the situation.
Chanappa also led foot patrolling teams to inspect the arrangements for the convenience and security of pilgrims reaching the city for bathing, offering prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple and celebrating Ravidas Jayanti. Strict enforcement of traffic diversions and restrictions kept the load of outstation vehicles reduced since Wednesday morning. However, the police stopped and diverted those vehicles that reached Chowkaghat, Lahurabir, Beniyabagh, Ramapura, Godowlia, Gurubagh, Luxa, Maidagin and other points despite all restrictions.
Amidst allegations of overpricing of fares and bargaining between pilgrims and auto as well as e-rickshaw drivers, the same vehicles proved a big help for the visitors, while the majority of pilgrims could be found travelling miles to reach the temple, ghats along the river Ganga, parking zones, railway stations and bus stands. Finding affordable accommodation proved difficult for many pilgrims, especially those who came in big groups.