ALLAHABAD, INDIA February 4, 2015 (Times of India): More than five million devotees including seers and kalpwasis (pilgrims to this festival), took the last holy bath in Ganga on the occasion of Maghi Purnima on Tuesday, marking the end of the month-long Magh Mela. The day also marked the end of Hindu month of Magh and the month-long kalpwas (kalpa or ritual is one of 6 disciplines traditionally associated with the study of the Vedas). The majority of kalpwasis, performing the rituals and seeking salvation on the banks of Ganga for the past month, left the Mela area after taking the holy bath.
SP, Mela, Neeraj Pandey told TOI, “No untoward incident was reported, and the last bath passed off peacefully. Heavy rush was witnessed at all the 11 ghats since Monday night and more than 4.3 million devotees had taken holy bath till 4pm.”
Since the number of devotees kept on increasing on the occasion of Maghi Purnima, the police officials didn’t let anyone stay on the ghats for a long time. However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the pilgrims, who arrived from across the state including from neighboring districts like Pratapgarh Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Kaushambi.