Ujjain : Devotees thronged the banks of the Kshipra to take holy dip on the occasion of Kartik Purnima, here on Wednesday. Kartika Purnima is a festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon) day or the fifteenth lunar day of Kartika (November-December).
The holy city had been bursting at its seams since Tuesday evening as thousands of pilgrims had descended on the city to participate in the holy bath. Since early morning at 4 am, lakhs of pilgrims had converged on the various ghats of the Kshipra to take bath. The maximum rush of pilgrims was seen at Ramghat where pilgrims took bath the whole day. A large number of pilgrims from northern states of the country participated in the holy bath, according to police officials. The Police had made elaborate security arrangements for the Kartik Purnima celebrations.
A large number of police personnel were deployed at all vintage points to facilitate the flow of pilgrims. Large number of devotees visited the Gaughat along with other ghats on the banks of the river to perform certain rituals marking the festival.
Collector Kavindra Kiyawat and SP MS Verma inspected the ghats and reviewed the security. Police personnel along with divers and steamers have been deployed on the ghats and efforts are being made to ensure that citizens move in a disciplined manner to avoid stampede like situations, police said. Security arrangements have been tightened and no untoward incident has been reported till evening, police said.
