Thousands gather for Pitripaksh Mela in Gaya: Assam minister & actor participate in pind daan rituals

Gaya: Assam minister for food, public distribution and consumer affairs Kaushik Rai and Bollywood actor Puneet Issar were among thousands of devotees who performed pind daan on Monday during the ongoing fortnight-long Pitripaksh Mela at Gaya.According to the district administration, more than 3.57 lakh pilgrims had performed pind daan and “tarpan” rituals by Monday evening, the third day of the mela. For the first time, foot-counting machines are being used to record the number of visitors.A large gathering was also seen at Pretshila, around 7km north-west of Gaya, where pind daan is performed for the souls of those who died unnatural deaths.Gaya DM Shashank Shubhankar said, “More than 5,000 pilgrims have availed health camps, wheelchairs have been provided to at least 70 elderly and disabled devotees, and at least 68 people who were separated from their families have been reunited. Free accommodation has also been provided in the tent city at Gandhi Maidan.”Both Rai and Issar praised the arrangements. Issar said, “Bihar has changed a lot than I heard about this state. The arrangements for such a large gathering are too good.”