Slippery roads pose problem for those arriving for Pitra Paksha rituals at Sangam

Prayagraj: At a time when lakhs of people are arriving at Sangam area for performing religious rituals during the ongoing fortnight of Pitra-Paksha, the silt and sludge on all the roads leading to Sangam is posing a huge problem.
The panda and their jajman (disciples), who have come from different parts of the country, are both facing the brunt of the inhospitable conditions while the authorities have failed to provide any respite. For the past week, the sludge and slippery roads were because of the clay and silt left over as the flood water in both river Ganga and Yamuna receded but adding to the woes is the rains that lashed the Sangam area on Monday and Tuesday as well. Because of the sporadic rains and overcast conditions, conditions are getting bad.
The problem is more worrying because of the ongoing period of Pitra-Paksha wherein all the religious ceremonies have to be performed on the banks of Sangam and Ganga. There is a large influx of families and individuals who arrive in Sangam city while going towards Gaya. “The shastra says that for resting the departed soul in peace at Gaya, one has to begin the process from Prayag where the first pind is offered to our Pitra (ancestors) from where the individual goes to Varanasi and then to Gaya”, said manager of Gauriya Math and priest, Anil Mishra. And when so many people are arriving on the banks of Ganga to perform these rites, the present inhospitable conditions are not helping them in any way, he added.
The sludge has dominated all the roads leading to Sangam and those coming to the panda’s, who have their camps besides these roads, are finding it hard to reach them. While some vehicles get stuck in the marshy areas, those coming on foot have to battle their way in the muddy slush and muddy water that is scattered all around. One of the panda, Abhishek said, “These 15 days is very important, both for the panda and the jajman, as many of the disciples want the rites to be performed during Pitra Paksha and the sad part is that the authorities are fully aware of the problem as well as the importance of the fortnight, but no one is there make things better”.
Commenting on the inhospitable conditions of the roads, OSD mela pradhikaran, Sant Kumar Srivastava said, “We are facing an acute shortage of manpower and the budget but still we are doing our best to make things better. Since the flood water has recently receded, the problem is there and rains have complicated the same but still the department is doing its best to improve the situation”.