Religious rituals mark Ganga Dussehra

VARANASI: Hundreds of devotees gathered at ghats along Ganga here on Thursday to take a holy dip on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra. Ganga Aarti, deep daan and other religious ceremonies were held at Dashaswamedh Ghat.
The devotees started reaching the ghats after Wednesday midnight and with the break of dawn, they started bathing in the holy river and offering 'arghya' (water) to the sun god.The ghats remained crowded with devotees till afternoon.
In the evening, various social and religious organizations organized events to mark the occasion. Gangotri Sewa Samiti organized a cultural programme at Dashaswamedh Ghat, which started with 'Manglacharan'. It was followed by Ganga Pujan by 11 Brahmin priests and 'deep daan'.
Dugdabhishek of 108-litre was also performed on the occasion. 'Bhajan Sandhya' began after that, which mesmerized the audience. The special guests were panchayati raj minister Kailash Yadav and minister of state for PWD and irrigation Surendra Patel.
Ganga Sewa Nidhi had organized a cultural programme at Dashaswamedh Ghat where customary Ganga Pujan and Ganga Maha-aarti were performed.
Mahamana Malaviya Institute of Technology for Ganga Management (MMITGM) and Ganga Mission Welfare Society had jointly organized a workshop on 'Ganga Management' in Banaras Hindu University. Discussions were held on pollution and religious rituals, idol immersion, wood crematorium, disposal of ritualistic residues into river, modern life practices, use of pesticides, chemicals and fertilizers. In technical sessions, other issues like industrial waste treatment, sewage treatment, solid waste management, river dynamics and scientific selection of location for sewage treatment plant were discussed.
The day-long workshop was followed by a cultural programme, Ganga aarti and video show at Harishchandra Ghat.