Haridwar: Devotees from all over India celebrate Ganga Saptami at Har ki Pauri

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

On the auspicious occasion of Ganga Saptami, devotees from different parts of the country took a holy dip at the 'Har Ki Pauri' in Haridwar.

Haridwar, May 14: On the auspicious occasion of Ganga Saptami, devotees from different parts of the country took a holy dip at the 'Har Ki Pauri' in Haridwar.

On the occasion of Ganga Saptmi, which is also the day of the incarnation of Ganga on earth, the enthusiasm of tourists arriving here from different states is clearly visible at 'Har Ki Pauri'.

Devotees were spotted chanting hymns, mantras and slogans of 'Gange maiya ki jai'. They offered 'argh', sweets, flowers and fruits while taking a holy dip in the Ganga.

Some devotees participated in the Ganga arti and then offered prayers at temples.

"We have come from Karnataka with our whole family to celebrate Ganga Saptmi, as this is the day when Ganga descended on earth, it's a day for boons. We took holy baths and offered milk, argh, flowers, fruits and prasads to Ganga Maa and participated in the Ganga arti. We felt very good," Yethiraj Dharak said.

Another devotee conveyed how auspicious the day is and how performing the right rituals can bring peace and moksha.

He said, "From mountains, Ganga had come to lands for humans. One should definitely take a holy dip in Ganga as one can attain salvation and peace from it. Our family has come from Karnataka to worship the holy Ganga and after that, we will head towards Char Dham Yatra."

The Char Dham Yatra, or pilgrimage, is a tour of four holy sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. In Hindi, 'char' means four and 'dham' refers to religious destinations, as per the Uttarakhand tourism official website. While commencing Char Dham Yatra, devotees often visit Haridwar, as it is one of the holy cities in the nation.

(ANI)

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Maoist Camp Busted In Odisha’s Nuapada; Explosives Recovered

by Hemanta Pande

Nuapada, Nov 2: Security personnel busted a Maoist camp in a forest in Odisha’s Nuapada district and recovered huge quantity of explosive materials from the spot, police said on Saturday.

Based on intelligence inputs about the movement of CPI (Maoist) cadres, two special operation groups (SOG) launched a search and destroy operation in Patdhara and Sunabeda reserve forests in Nuapada district on the night of October 30.

“On November 1, one SOG Assault team identified a suspected Maoist camp associated with the DGN divisional committee of the CPI (Maoist) in a dense forest near Bhainsamundi (Bahadurpani) village under Boden police station limits,” a senior Police officer said.

A huge quantity of explosive materials was recovered during the search operation at the camp, he added.

The recovered materials include 500 electric detonators, five reels of safety fuse, five improvised IED switches, two SBGL rounds, one gelatin stick (decomposed) and various Naxalite literatures.

“This recovery suggests that the site served as a temporary hideout for CPI (Maoist) cadres, which was raided by security forces,” he said.

In addition, another SOG team was deployed on November 1 evening to intensify the search operation, the police added.

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3rd Test: India Grab The Initiative, Reduce NZ to 171/9 At Stumps On Day 2

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Mumbai, Nov 2: Ravindra Jadeja (4-52) and R Ashwin (3-63) helped India reduce New Zealand to 171/9 in their second innings at the end of Day 2 in the third Test in Mumbai. New Zealand, who scored 235 in their first innings were leading by 143 runs after they rode on Ajaz Patel's 5-103 to bowl out India for 263, restricting the hosts to only a 28-run lead.

On a crumbling pitch on which offered sharp turn and variable bounce, the spinners continued to rule the roost as they had another productive day.

After New Zealand had restricted India to 263 in their first innings and lead of just 28 runs despite contrasting half-centuries by Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60), the hosts roared back into contention thanks to Ashwin and Jadeja.

Akash Deep, opening the bowling, gave India the breakthrough once again by bowling Tom Latham for one as the ball nipped back in to sneak through the gap between the bat and pad.

Washing Sundar then accounted for Devon Conway (22) and Ashwin sent back Rachin Ravindra for 4 but Will Young and Daryl Mitchell, who had saved New Zealand in their first innings, raised a half-century partnership to keep New Zealand's hopes alive.

But Ashwin pulled off a brilliant catch off a skier, running a long distance to poach a diving catch from Ravindra Jadeja's bowling, to dismiss Mitchell for 21 off 41 balls. New Zealand lost their fourth wicket with 94 runs on the board, just 66 runs ahead.

Jadeja grabbed his seventh wicket of the match when he had Tim Blundell chopping onto his wicket with a full-length delivery that rushed onto the batter. He made it eight wickets for the match by sending back Ish Sodhi as India took control of the match.

Glenn Phillips struck Ashwin for a couple of sixes in an over but the seasoned off-spinner had the last laugh knocking back the off-stump with a sensational carrom ball that the batter failed to read and played the wrong line. Phillips scored 26 off 14 balls (1x4, 3x6) and New Zealand were down to 131/6.

But Young kept their hopes alive with his second half-century of the match before spooning a catch back to Ashwin off another carrom ball tossed up which drifted towards the leg-stump. Young showed lots of patience as he scored 51 off 100 balls, hitting two fours and a six.

Matt Henry, who had scored one six over long-off on Jadeja’s bowling, was clean bowled by Jadeja on 10 runs following which stumps were called. Patel, batting on seven and new batter on the crease William ORourke will continue things on Day three as India look to register their first win of the series.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 235 and 171/9 in 43.3 overs (Will Young 51; Ravindra Jadeja 4-52, R Ashwin 3-63) lead India 263 all out in 59.4 overs (Shubman Gill 90, Rishabh Pant 60, Washington Sundar 38 not out; Ajaz Patel 5-103) by 143 runs

--IANS

Haridwar: Devotees from all over India celebrate Ganga Saptami at Har ki Pauri

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