Thousands take holy dip at Kumbh on 'Mauni Amavasya'

Prayagraj: Hundreds and thousands of devotees from various parts of the world braved the cold and fog on Monday morning and took a holy dip in the Sangam -= the trinity of holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati, on the occasion of "Mauni Amavasya", officials said.

Several lakh people had started arriving at the Kumbhnagar from Sunday and the entire place bustled with frantic activity as men, women, old and young, seers, religious leaders and spiritual gurus led their disciples into the third royal bathing of Kumbh this year. 

Heavy security arrangements have been made to ensure that there is no untoward incident.

Senior police officials told IANS that adequate security arrangements have been made in and around the Kumbhnagar not only to ensure that no subversive element slipped into the crowd but also to guide the thronging millions and ensure their safety as they go to the river to take a dip.

According to the time table and sequence worked out by the Mela administration, Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani will be the first in the order to go to the rivers to take the dip at a round 6:15 a.m.

The first to take the dip were the 'sanyasi' sect followed by the 'barrages' in sequence of Shri Panchayati Niranjani Akhada, Shri Panch Dashnam Akhada, Akhil Bharatiya Shri Panch Nirvana Akhada, Shri panchayats Digambar Ani Akhada, Shri Panch Nirmohi Ani Akhada followed by Shri Panchayati Akhada Naya Udaseen, and others, AVijay Kiran Anand, the Mela in-charge informed.