Haridwar: On the eve of Somvati Amavasya devotees thronged the bank of Ganga to take a holy dip in the water today, the day is considered to be one of the most important days in the Hindu religion.
Taking note of the event, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar talked about the heavy rush at the holy site and informed about police preparedness to handle this situation.
He says, "Since Kumbh in 2021, this has been the first holy bath at such a huge scale in Haridwar. This is the first holy bath since Corona struck us. I estimate around 15 lakh devotees have taken the holy bath and by the end of the day, the number could reach 35-40 lakh." "We have deployed strong police protection at the site. We've divided the police force into 5 super-zone, 15 zone and 39 sectors. Around 2000 police personnel have been deployed in Haridwar alone," he added.
Talking about the measures they've taken to manage the crowd in an efficient way, the Uttarakhand DGP said, "Yesterday there was a heavy rush with traffic at Har Ki Pauri but we managed the situation well without any casualties. To manage the rush, we had to wake devotees up at midnight to take the holy bath. Also, we had to divert people from Har Ki Pauri to other ghats, during the peak time at 5-6 am, requesting them to hold the ritual along other ghats adjacent to the holy Ganga." Shravan, the fifth month in the Hindu calendar, is considered to be the most auspicious month of the year. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva who, according to Hindu religious beliefs, is the creator, preserver, and destroyer of this universe. —ANI