Pitripaksh: Gaya brims with pilgrims, over 50k perform pind daan on Day 1

Gaya: More than 50,000 pilgrims from across the country performed pind daan on Sunday, the opening day of the fortnight-long Pitripaksh.According to religious belief, devotees first take a dip in the Punpun river in Patna district and perform pind daan at the vedi near Punpun ghat, before continuing their rituals at the 55 vedis spread across Gaya and Bodh Gaya.On Sunday, pilgrims, mostly from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, gathered at the waterproof pandal erected at Dev Ghat. They took a holy dip in the Falgu river and performed the pind daan ritual using kheer balls under the guidance of Gayapal pandas.Swami Venketesh Prapannacharya of Ramanuj math said, “Pilgrims coming to Gaya from across the country stay here for a day, three days, seven days or 17 days. However, the number of pilgrims staying here for 17 days to perform pind daan on all the 55 vedis is very less. Three places are most important – Vishnupad temple, Falgu and Akshaywat, only then the ritual is considered to be completed.”Gaya district magistrate (DM) Shashank Shubhankar and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Anand Kumar conducted inspections of the Mela area from Sunday morning to noon around Vishnupad temple and along the narrow lanes of Andar Gaya to monitor crowd management and ensure arrangements were in place.While visiting administrative camps, the DM asked officials concerned to provide all possible support to the pilgrims and said, “In case of any complication, immediately inform at the control room.”Both the DM and SSP personally assisted elderly pilgrims climb the stairs near the 16 vedi site. At Dev Ghat, the DM appealed to devotees, asking them not to throw pind daan materials into the Falgu river to prevent contamination. “After performing the rituals, put the materials into pits made on the ghats and the dustbins placed there,” he said.The DM also reminded pilgrims to maintain the queue system to enter Vishnupad temple campus, ensuring a smooth darshan of the sacred footprint of Lord Vishnu in the sanctum sanctorum.