Ganga Dussehra: Devotees throng ghats in Prayagraj

PRAYAGRAJ: At a time when the government is all set to open temples and other religious places from June 8, controlling the devotees and following the concept of social distancing would be a challenge for the administration and temple authorities alike.
A glimpse of the same was witnessed at the bank's of river Ganga, on Monday when a large number of devotees arrived to take holy dip on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra. None of the devotees were following social distancing and barring few elderly, no one was seen wearing a face mask.
Ganga Dussehra is one occasion when thousands of devotees used to arrive at ghats on the banks of river Ganga to take holy dip. Besides, there were different groups which used to organise ‘Bhandara’ (community food) for the devotees and poor people. The temples of the Sangam area too used to organise special puja and festivities on this occasion.
However, things were different this year around amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The head count of devotees was less than the previous years and the practice of holding Bhandara was also absent. But some of the devotees performed the puja of the river and distributed prasad among the fellow devotees and the communities living in the localities at the Sangam area.
On Monday, the devotees started arriving at the ghats in the wee hours and almost all of them were seen without masks. Although some of the female devotees had covered their faces with their sarees or scarf, the male counterpart hardly cared for following the norms.In addition to this, almost no one was seen following the concept of social distancing as everyone stood side by side while taking the dip. Same was the case while changing outfits or performing the rituals.
However, among these careless devotees, there were some elderlies who were seen wearing the face mask while performing puja. “Maa Ganga is there to protect us but that hardly means that we should not care for ourselves and our family, wearing mask is one such act which we all should follow”, said Shesh Narayan Mishra of Shambhu barrack of the city.
With Monday’s rush and the fact that few believed in devotees following the practice of social distancing, the management of the Bade Hamunan Ji Temple have started their preparations. “We have realised that the number of devotees coming to the temple would be quite large and after seeing them at the ghats of river Ganga we have decided that we would mark circles on the ground and will let only around Ten devotees at a time inside the temple, with minimum chances that they touch the iron railing”, said Mahant Narendra Giri of the temple.