Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 ALLAHABAD, India (Wed Jan 3, 2007, AFP): More than a million Hindu pilgrims have plunged into the chilly Ganges river in northern India, hoping to wash away their sins and achieve immortality at the start of a huge religious festival. Naked sadhus, or holy men, blowing conch shells, whose bodies were smeared with ash and sandalwood paste, mingled with other devotees at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers and raced into the water for the cleansing ritual. At least 50 million people are expected to bathe in the waters during the 45-day religious festival, which takes place every six years in the city of Allahabad and is billed as one of the largest gatherings of humanity on earth. Braving the winter chill, worshippers chanting prayers waded into the water, cupped it in their hands and threw it over their heads and chests. Others dunked their heads into the water. "Around 2.5 million devotees have already arrived and we're ready to face a larger deluge of humanity during the mela," said C. Bajpai, chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh state. "About 1.5 million people have already taken a dip," he told AFP on Wednesday. Flags of different Hindu sects fluttered above the pilgrims' camp of 62,000 tents as the hordes of worshippers took the plunge, ignoring the cold snap gripping northern India, where early morning temperatures are hovering just above freezing. The festival, being held 400 kilometres (250 miles) from New Delhi, commemorates a mythical battle between gods and demons over a pitcher of the nectar of immortality. It draws old and young and rich and poor people from across the country as well as foreigners, many of them devoted followers of Hinduism. Devotees believe bathing in the Ganges washes away sins, liberates them from a continuous cycle of birth and reincarnation and guarantees immortality. The festival, where the sound of sacred Hindu hymns and chanting of scripture rose from the river banks, was taking place against tight security. Among the huge crowds, tens of thousands of police were on high alert after intelligence warnings of possible attacks. "More than 50,000 policemen are being deployed and the festival ground has been divided into 28 sectors, which will be under the command of a senior police officer," said state Home Secretary R.M. Srivastava. "We have received intelligence reports about possible terrorist attacks and we are in touch with the army and federal intelligence agencies," he told AFP. "Security has been tightened around the grounds and our policemen would mill around in plain clothes and some will be deployed dressed as sadhus at strategic points," Srivastava added. A special team of "terrorist spotters" drawn from insurgency-hit states in India had been formed, said senior police superintendent Rajeev Sabharwal. About two million devotees are staying in the giant tented city covering some 4,000 hectares (1,618 hectares) of land set aside for the event. To control the crowd there is just one entry point and three exit points. A major religious festival is held every 12 years at Allahabad and at other sites on the Ganges. In the interim there are other festivals such as the current one at Allahabad. SOURCE: News URL: http://news./s/afp/20070103/wl_afp/indiareligionfestival_070103105849 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 " "Security has been tightened around the grounds and our policemen would mill around in plain clothes and some will be deployed dressed as sadhus at strategic points," Srivastava added." This is sad, frightening, and funny all at the same time. Humans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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