lakhs of devotees of lord Shiva from various parts of the country gathered in large numbers on the banks of the Ganga River in Haridwar to collect water and take a dip on the second Monday of the holy Shravan month. More than 90 lakh Kanwadias have
visited Haridwar to bathe in the Ganga and collect its water from various ghats since July 13.
Devotees native to Uttarakhand took a dip in Ganga river and offered prayers to Shiva considering July 21 as the first Monday of Shravan while others considered this as the second Monday of the Shravan month.
In view of increasing number of Shiva devotees and Kanwadias on Monday, Haridwar SSP Sadanand Date inspected various ghats and mela areas and gave necessary instructions to the police officers. He opined that this year, more than two crore Kanwadias are expected to reach Haridwar to bathe in the Ganga and collect its water from various ghats in the district.
Shiva devotees were witnessed chanting of ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ on Kanwad mela routes throughout the day on Monday. lakhs of Shiva devotees took a holy dip in rivers and offered prayers in various Shiva temples on Monday. Devotees began bathing in the Ganga river in Haridwar and Rishikesh since early morning and made a beeline to temples to offer prayers.
long-winding queues of devotees were seen outside temples near the banks of Ganga River in Haridwar, Rishikesh and elsewhere.
In Dehradun, the Shiva temples were crowded with devotees since early morning. In the State capital, since morning, devotees were witnessed standing outside various temples like Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple, Nageshwar Mahadev temple and Panchayati Mandir among others.