About six lakh devotees took a dip in Ganga on Friday morning on the occasion of Maha Shivratri, also the last bathing day of the ongoing Magh Mela in Sangam area of Prayagraj, officials said.
An official of the Magh Mela administration said devotees started arriving in the Sangam area since the outset of this morning.
Until 10 am, about six lakh people had taken bath in the Ganga and in the Sangam — the trijunction of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, the official said.
On the occasion of Maha Shivratri, a large number of people visited temples in the city and offered milk and flowers to the Shivling.
According to the official, for the convenience of devotees, the length of the ghats were increased from 6,800 feet to 8,000 feet and a total of 12 ghats were built.
An adequate number of changing facilities were also set up at all the ghats, he said.
Teerth Purohit (priest) Rajendra Mishra said it is believed Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati got married on the day of Maha Shivratri.
On this day, Bholenath (Lord Shiv) is worshiped and anointed with various holy items such as ‘belpatra’, ‘dhatura’, ‘abeer gulal’, and ‘ber’among others.
Maha Shivratri will be celebrated on Friday at 9.57 pm.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Magh Mela) Rajiv Narayan Mishra said elaborate security arrangements have been made at several temples in the city, including Mankameshwar, Someshwar Mahadev and Nagavasuki, and adequate space has been ensured for parking of vehicles.
