On Friday as it was on Thursday, lakhs of devotees poured in on the banks of Ganga in Haridwar and Rishiesh to mark the occasion of Makar Sankranti which was spread over two days this year. On Friday, over five lakh devotees took the holy dip as estimated by the police. Amid tight security, the first of the major snans passed off peacefully. The period of merit started Thursday midnight around 1.30 am and lasted till 2.30 on Friday. However, the people faced problems with the construction of some of the road projects remaining incomplete.
The pilgrims in thousands started coming to the city since early Thursday morning, braving the dense fog.
With fog enveloping the whole city, only high mast lights could be spotted during the early morning hours. Vehicles moved at snail’s pace and people were made to walk beyond the Rishikul bus stand.
Most of the pilgrims opted for holy dip at nearby ghats, unable to walk till Har Ki Pauri, while rickshaw pullers and e- rickshaws did good business ferrying pilgrims to the sacred spots. Notably, the whole of the Har Ki Pauri area was declared mela zone and only two- wheelers were allowed to ply after the riders showed their identity cards.
The broadening work of National Highway NH- 58 which is far from complete proved hazardous to many pilgrims in the wee hours. With the construction materials lying scattered everywhere on the ghats along the National Highway, they had tough time reaching the ghats. “Finding my way through the dense fog, I somehow reached the Vishwakarma Ganga ghat near Prem Nagar Ashram on early morning,” said one of the tourists, Mahesh Agnihotri from Udham Singh Nagar.
Till noon, people were seen coming from several parts of Haryana on tractors and trolleys. “We reached the city with great difficulty as the works of road construction remained incomplete,” said another pilgrim, Sushma Devi from Jind village of Haryana.
Speaking to The Pioneer, SSP Santhil Abudai Krishna Raj S said, “An estimated number of five lakh pilgrims took the holy dip at Har Ki Pauri till the end of the snan.”