Till February 5, Ganga Arti to be performed with limited gathering
VARANASI In wake of the huge influx of pilgrims in Varanasi due to Prayagraj Mahakumbh, Ganga Arti organisers here said the prayers will be performed at the ghats with a limited gathering till February 5 and urged people to postpone their plans to visit the city till the crowd pressure eases.
“Ganga Arti will be organised at Dashashwamedh Ghat daily but excess crowd will not be allowed. Seven priests with 14 girls as ‘Riddhi’ and ‘Siddhi’ will perform the Arti,” said Sushant Mishra, president of the Ganga Sewa Nidhi.
“There’s a huge influx of pilgrims in Kashi from Mahakumbh in Prayagraj. Therefore, we appeal to the people to defer their visit to Dashashwamedh Ghat for Ganga Arti. For now, people can attend the arti online and may visit Kashi after the crowd pressure eases,” he said.
He said the appeal has been made as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident.
At present, the Ganga Arti begins at 6.15pm and concludes after 45 minutes. Mishra
also urged boatmen not to allow more passengers to board their boats to avoid any untoward incident.
The management Gangotri Seva Samiti, which holds the Ganga Aarti at another part of Dashashwamedh Ghat, has made a similar appeal. “Arti will be organised every day (symbolically) till February 5. But it will not be for commoners. The committee has appealed to the devotees and visitors to accept this temporary change,” Dinesh Chandra, secretary of the samiti.
The committee conducting Ganga Aarti at Assi Ghat has also requested the general public to follow the administration’s guidelines for crowd management.
Ganga arti is organised daily for 45 minutes. Devotees watch it while sitting on the stairs and platforms of the ghats whereas many others attend it onboard the boats.
On normal days, roughly 25,000-30,000 people attend the Arti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. But on Thursday, the crowd surges to over 80,000, according to organisers.
The district administration has already put in place measures for crowd control. Around 40 holding areas have been created for pilgrims and food packets are being provided to them with the help of social organisations. At the same time, over 20 parking lots have been created on the outskirts of the city.
“Cops have been deployed from Maidagini to Godaulia as well as in others parts of the city and on the outskirts for smooth traffic flow and management of crowd,” said additional commissioner of police (law and order) S Channappa. In three days, over 6 lakh vehicles entered Kashi, said officials.
