Magh Mela: Over 21 lakh take dip at Sangam on Makar Sankranti
Prayagraj (PTI): More than 21 lakh devotees took dip in the Ganga and the Sangam at the ongoing Magh Mela here on Thursday on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, officials said.
A Magh Mela administration official said bathing began from midnight and by 8 am, around 21 lakh people had performed the ritual bath.
Given that the auspicious period for Makar Sankranti continues throughout the day, the number of pilgrims is expected to cross one crore by evening, he added.
Explaining the religious significance of the day, local priest Ravishankar Mishra said Makar Sankranti marks the beginning of the sun's northward journey (Uttarayan).
ALSO READ: At 2.9 degrees Celsius, Delhi records its coldest morning this season
"The period from sunrise to sunset is considered highly auspicious, and worship of the Sun God and chanting of the Gayatri Mantra on this day is believed to be especially fruitful," he said.
Divisional Commissioner Soumya Agrawal said the Magh Mela is spread over 800 hectares across seven sectors. More than 25,000 toilets have been set up in the fair area, and over 3,500 sanitation workers have been deployed.
Agrawal said a tent city has been established at the Magh Mela for visitors wishing to observe short-term 'Kalpvas' (period dedicated to spiritual purification), offering facilities such as meditation and yoga. To facilitate smooth movement of devotees, services like bike taxis and golf carts have also been arranged.
Superintendent of Police (Magh Mela) Neeraj Pandey said over 10,000 police personnel have been deployed across the fair area to ensure the safety of pilgrims and smooth crowd movement. For effective crowd and traffic management, 42 temporary parking facilities have been developed this year, with capacity to accommodate more than one lakh vehicles.
He added that multiple ghats have been constructed for the Magh Mela 2025-26, equipped with all basic amenities, including changing rooms for devotees.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
