UP: Devotees take holy dip in Sangam after annular solar eclipse

PRAYAGRAJ: Scores of devotees gathered at the banks of Triveni Sangam here on Sunday afternoon to take a holy dip in the river after the annular solar eclipse. The devotees also performed special puja and other rituals on the banks of the river.
Police barricaded some routes and directed people to follow the social distancing norms after thousands of devotees thronged to Sangam to take the holy dip after the ‘grahan kaal’. A team of police was present to regulate the crowd at the banks of the river.
The doors of all prominent temples (which were closed on Saturday evening) of the city including Kalyani Devi, Bade Hanuman temple, Alopi Devi, and Lord Hanuman temple were opened for the devotees only after the ‘grahan kaal’ (solar eclipse) ended. The temples were also cleaned after the eclipse.
Chief priest of Maa Kalyani Devi temple, Pt. Shyam Ji Pathak told TOI that temple was opened after 3.30 pm and special prayers were organised after cleaning the temple premises.
“Devotees started taking holy dip once the ‘grahan kaal’ ended and then visited various temples to offer prayers to god. Special jaap was also organised for the welfare of the world,” Pathak said.
The city witnessed the solar eclipse between 10.27 am to 2.02 pm on Sunday. At 10.27 am, the partial eclipse began, and the moon touched the edge of the sun. The maximum phase of the eclipse occurred at 12.13 pm and it ended at 2.02 pm.
Meanwhile, sky gazers and space enthusiasts in the city were excited to watch the annular solar eclipse as they climbed to their rooftops to witness the rare celestial phenomenon.