Varanasi:
Authorities have stopped the Ganga Aarti performed at the ghats of Varanasi for the general public till February 5, considering a surge in crowd.
Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal has appealed to the people of Kashi not to leave their house unnecessarily and to cooperate with the devotees.
Ganga Seva Nidhi President Sushant Mishra on Friday said the Ganga Aarti performed at Dashashwamedh Ghat will remain closed for the general public till February 5.
Similarly, the committees performing Ganga Aarti at Sheetla Ghat, Assi Ghat and other ghats have also appealed to the general public, visitors and devotees not to come for it till February 5.
A large number of devotees returning from Prayagraj Maha Kumbh are still stranded at Varanasi Cantt and Banaras railway stations. Many devotees said that they could not catch their train due to the excessive crowd.
In addition, hundreds have stranded at stations due to the cancellation of some of the trains.
Bobby Maya Limbu from Assam’s Sonicpur said she had come to Prayagraj with her groupand bathed at Sangam Ghat on January 26 and reached Varanasi on Thursday to board a train, but could not, because of the rush.
Dinanath, from Gaya district, said he had been stranded in Banaras with his wife and children for the last two days. On Thursday, he tried to catch the train, but due to suffocation had to get down.
Since then, he is staying in a night shelter built off the platform.
Rajat Singh, the night shelter manager, said the shelter was built especially to cater to the passengers coming to Kumbh. Though one can stay for a night there, there no food arrangement, he said.
Cantt Assistant Commissioner of Police Vidush Saxena said after evr since the Mauni Amavasya, the influx of devotees has increased in Kashi.
He said security forces are constantly patrolling the station.
Saxena urged the devotees to defer coming to Varanasi for a few days til the crowd abates.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)