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Thousands take holy dip in Haridwar on Basant Panchami

     Haridwar: Hundreds of thousands of Hindus converged at Haridwar known as the "gateway of God" to bathe in the river Ganga in the second phase of Ardh Kumbh, one of the world's largest religious gathering. Ardh (Half) Kumbh comes every six years and is second only in terms of human congregation to the Kumbh festival which comes once in 12 years. Hindu pilgrims jostled with each other since early in the morning at bathing ghats, on the either side of the Ganges on the occasion of the Basant Panchmi.

    According to official estimates, nearly 100,000 people bathed in the Ganga on Monday. "This festival has a lot of importance in the Hindu mythology. The divine nectar was sent here by Gods and we bathe in this nectar on the occasion," said Baba Shivshankar Giri, a Hindu holy man. Legend says Haridwar was one of four places where the nectar of immortality fell to earth after spilling out of a pitcher during an epic battle for its possession between the Gods and the demons.

    The Uttaranchal government made elaborate arrangements for the convenience of the pilgrims. Several companies of police and paramilitary Rapid Action Force have been deployed for maintaining peace and crowd control at the site. Several temporary police posts have been erected near the bathing banks to streamline the flow of huge influx of devotees. It is believed that bathing in a sacred river washes away sins, escaping the cycle of birth and death for each soul and paving the way for its attainment of "Nirvana" (freedom from rebirths). A bath at Hardwar, one of the holiest spots along the Ganges' 2000-km journey from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, during the Kumbh is considered most auspicious.
- Jan 26, 2004

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