Bhagalpur: On the first Monday of the holy month of Sawan, a huge crowd of devotees gathered at different Ganga Ghats in Bhagalpur from early morning. People came to take a holy dip in the river and offer prayers, but due to poor arrangements by the administration, there was chaos at many ghats. This led to several people slipping and getting injured.
At Barari Pul Ghat, 55-year-old Sunaina Devi, Vasudev Sah, Ajay Mandal, and Vishnu Sah fell while bathing in the Ganga and got hurt on their hands, waist, and legs. Barricades were placed at the ghat to stop people from entering deep water, but many young devotees crossed them and kept swimming far into the river. There was no team from SDRF seen at the ghat to help in case of drowning.
Apart from Barari Pul Ghat, a large number of devotees were also seen at Manth Ghat, Seedhi Ghat, Pipli Dham Ghat, Khanjarpur Ghat, Mushari Ghat, Engineering College Ghat, Babupur Ghat, and Khirni Ghat. Police from different stations were present to manage traffic and stop big vehicles from entering near the ghats. Traffic police had put up barricades to control four-wheeler movement on these roads.
Police also ensured that vehicles coming from Vikramshila Setu did not go directly to the ghats and were parked nearby to avoid crowding. While the traffic was managed well, the safety arrangements at the ghats failed to control the large number of devotees, leading to injuries and fear among pilgrims on this important religious day.
