The authorities in Varanasi have stopped the Ganga Aarti performed at the ghats of the holy city for the general public till February 5 due to a surge in crowd, PTI reported on Friday.
Varanasi Police commissioner Mohit Agarwal appealed to the people of the city not to leave their house unnecessarily and to cooperate with the devotees.
Ganga Seva Nidhi President Sushant Mishra on Friday told PTI 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 Mahakumbh are still stranded at Varanasi Cantt and Banaras railway stations. Several devotees said that they could not catch their train due to the excessive crowd.
In addition, hundreds of devotees are stranded at the stations due to the cancellation of some of the trains, the report added.
Bobby Maya Limbu from Assam’s Sonicpur said she had come to Prayagraj with her group and 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, told PTI 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.
Varanasi Cantt assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Vidush Saxena said 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.
(With PTI inputs)