Kanwariyas reach ghats to take Ganga water

Prayagraj: Apart from Sangam city, devotees of Lord Shiva from neighbouring districts— Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Fatehpur, Chitrakoot and Reewa etc are marching towards Kashi Vishwanath temple after taking holy water of Ganga from Dashaswamedh ghat. The devotees chanting Shiva mantra and Shiv Tandav Stotram have started their kanwar yatra to offer Jalabhishek to Lord Shiva during the ongoing Shrawan month.Though the strength of kanwariyas arriving at the banks of Ganga was less but cops maintained a strict vigil on ghats, temples and kanwar routes for the safety and security of devotees.
For devotees, it’s all about faith and devotion that brought them to Sangam city to take holy water. “Apart from annual Magh Mela or Kumbh that sees congregation of devotees from across the country, Lord Shiva devotees on every shrawan month arrive at the banks of Ganga from far flung states to take Ganga water and rush towards Kashi Vishwanath for jalabhishek,” said noted religious scholar Dr Amitabh Gour adding, “The strength of kanwariyas would be increasing with every passing day”.
One Rahul along with his five group members from Bharwari (Kaushambi) arrived Dashaswamedh ghat to collect Ganga water before starting barefoot journey towards Kashi dham. “This is the first time that me and my friends decided to become kanwariyas and take part in all rituals associated with the holy month of Shrawan”.
Apart from Rahul, Suraj and his family members from Kunda (Pratapgarh) have also arrived ghat to collect water from Ganga. All the five members of family including a woman are carrying decorated kanwars and claimed to have walked to Ganga ghat from their village.
“Devotees across UP arrive Sangam every year to participate in kanwar yatra as Sangam holds a significance in our religious books,” claimed Gour adding, “The devotees are supported by locals of Daraganj and adjoining areas in terms of availability of potable water and eatables”.
For the last nine years, RK Sharma and his younger brother from city have been carrying kanwars on their shoulders and offer jalabhishek’ to Lord Shiva.“We prefer to walk in groups and remain in touch with our family and friends till our journey ends,” Sharma said. On Monday, the Dashashwamedh Ghat at Daraganj witnessed separate groups of kanwariays arriving to take Ganga water before starting their journey to Kashi Vishwanath, Padila Mahadeo and Baijnath Dham in Jharkhand.
Nodal Officer (Kanwar yatra) and DCP (Ganga Nagar) Abhishek Bharti told TOI, “On the first day of Shrawan month, the strength of kanwariyas was not so much but cops maintained surveillance round the clock at ghats, temples and kanwar routes”. He also claimed that cops also used drones to maintain surveillance. Meanwhile, all the four prominent temples of Lord Shiva including Mankameshwar, Someshwar Mahadeo and Padila Mahadev witnessed huge rush of devotees since early morning hours to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. Adequate police forces have been deployed at all four prominent Lord Shiva temples and cops were also seen on their toes to manage crowd.