Haridwar: Nearly 1.45 crore pilgrims took a dip in the Ganga today, the day of the last royal bath during the Mahakumbh in Haridwar, as seven pilgrims, including three women, were killed in this town.
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Director general of police Subhash Joshi said nearly 1.45 crore pilgrims took a bath on the occasion of Mesh Sankranti.
Meanwhile, five pilgrims, including three women and a girl, were killed after being hit by a car carrying naga sadhus at Birla Ghat bridge area, official sources said.
The accident took place this morning when the procession of Joona Akhara was approaching towards Har-Ki-Pauri and the crowd lined up along the road to witness it and was hit by the car.
Nine others were also injured in the incident.
The health office at the Mahakumbh Mela said seven persons had died today.
However, it was not clear whether all the seven persons were killed in the accident or died in separate incidents.
After the mishap, Sadhus belonging to Joona and Niranjani Akhara did not proceed towards Har-Ki-Pauri, the main bathing ghat.
Their procession returned to their camps and they took bath along with their deities at their private ghats only.
Later, sadhus of three more Akharas of Agni, Aahwan and Anand also joined Joona and Niranjani Akharas and did not take bath at Har-Ki-Pauri.
However, sadhus belonging to Mahanirvani, Nirmohi Ani, Digambar Ani and Nirwani ani reached Har-Ki-Pauri in the form of a procession and took their dip.
Other ghats in Haridwar and Rishikesh were full with pilgrims, who had gathered here from across the country to take the blessings of Ganga during the Mahakumbh.
The mela administration made elaborate security arrangements for the fourth and last royal bath of the Mahakumbh with 25 companies of PAC, 20 companies of RPF, 10 companies each of RAF and ITBP being deployed at the mela area.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Yoga guru Ramdev eyes new political posture
HARIDWAR: From the Himalayan foothills he runs a $40 million-a-year health empire, owns a Scottish island and claims to cure cancer. Now, India's
star yoga guru plans to enter politics to help the poor and punish the corrupt. Swami Ramdev is out to "cleanse" the world's largest democracy of 1.2 billion people of greed and foreign influences, drawing on the support of a television audience of millions and his claim to have a follower in every Indian household. It is too early to say whether Ramdev will prove a serious political force or a passing fad. But he could appeal to millions of Hindus whose traditional bent grates against a rapidly globalising economy, and be a man other politicians may woo. Dressed in his trademark orange robe, wooden sandals and lounging in a chair, Ramdev told Reuters that his party will contest all 543 seats in the next election due by 2014. If his TV audience is anything to go by, he will have a head start. At least 30 million watch Ramdev's daily yoga teachings treating anything from diabetes to high blood pressure. A Ramdev-led government will overhaul India's political, legal and education systems which he says are hangovers from colonial rule, and set up fast-track courts to pass sentences for capital crimes including corruption. "People who are corrupt should face capital punishment. This is how it will stop, otherwise it won't stop," Ramdev said at his sprawling ashram in Haridwar, one of Hinduism's holiest sites on the banks of the Ganges river. "The policies which were formed by the British were not to run the country ... they were formulated to loot the country." Ramdev wants to withdraw the rupee and issue a new currency, with the aim of taking the old money out of criminals' pockets. Foreign corporations will be boycotted. Yoga will spread far and wide, especially to schools and hospitals if Ramdev wins power. He also has little time for shopping, TV soaps or cricket -- another British import -- though he insists these are his personal preferences. His ashram can host 6,000 people and is the nerve centre for three trusts worth $40 million in turnover last year, including a Scottish island now renamed "Peace Island". But Ramdev, who does not disclose his age, has drawn sharp criticism in the past over issues such as his claims to cure cancer and his belief that homosexuality is a mental disease. In an interview punctuated by Ramdev's frequent laughter and the occasional burp, he says he wants to "befriend" gay people who could come to him for treatment. He also says he was misquoted in another row over claims he has an AIDS cure. "People like to create controversies for me," he said.
star yoga guru plans to enter politics to help the poor and punish the corrupt. Swami Ramdev is out to "cleanse" the world's largest democracy of 1.2 billion people of greed and foreign influences, drawing on the support of a television audience of millions and his claim to have a follower in every Indian household. It is too early to say whether Ramdev will prove a serious political force or a passing fad. But he could appeal to millions of Hindus whose traditional bent grates against a rapidly globalising economy, and be a man other politicians may woo. Dressed in his trademark orange robe, wooden sandals and lounging in a chair, Ramdev told Reuters that his party will contest all 543 seats in the next election due by 2014. If his TV audience is anything to go by, he will have a head start. At least 30 million watch Ramdev's daily yoga teachings treating anything from diabetes to high blood pressure. A Ramdev-led government will overhaul India's political, legal and education systems which he says are hangovers from colonial rule, and set up fast-track courts to pass sentences for capital crimes including corruption. "People who are corrupt should face capital punishment. This is how it will stop, otherwise it won't stop," Ramdev said at his sprawling ashram in Haridwar, one of Hinduism's holiest sites on the banks of the Ganges river. "The policies which were formed by the British were not to run the country ... they were formulated to loot the country." Ramdev wants to withdraw the rupee and issue a new currency, with the aim of taking the old money out of criminals' pockets. Foreign corporations will be boycotted. Yoga will spread far and wide, especially to schools and hospitals if Ramdev wins power. He also has little time for shopping, TV soaps or cricket -- another British import -- though he insists these are his personal preferences. His ashram can host 6,000 people and is the nerve centre for three trusts worth $40 million in turnover last year, including a Scottish island now renamed "Peace Island". But Ramdev, who does not disclose his age, has drawn sharp criticism in the past over issues such as his claims to cure cancer and his belief that homosexuality is a mental disease. In an interview punctuated by Ramdev's frequent laughter and the occasional burp, he says he wants to "befriend" gay people who could come to him for treatment. He also says he was misquoted in another row over claims he has an AIDS cure. "People like to create controversies for me," he said.
