Kumbh Mela: President Ram Nath Kovind offers prayer

Prayagraj, Jan 17 President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife on Thursday performed 'Ganga pujan' at Kumbh Mela 2019 in Prayagraj, officials said. They included that President Kovind and first woman Savita Kovind arrived at Bamrauli airport on a special plane of the Indian Air Force around 9:30 am. Governor Ram Naik, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several cabinet ministers welcomed President Kovind at the airport.

After offering the petition, President Kovind left for Arail with CM Yogi and Governor Ram Naik.

A press release issued by Press and Information Bureau said that the President is scheduled to inaugurate a two-day Gandhian Resurgence Summit at the camp of Parmarth Niketan Ashram at Arail side of Mela.

Meanwhile, ash-smeared and dreadlocked Naga sadhus are grabbing a lot of attention at Kumbh Mela this year as well. The organisers said that Kumbh Mela is a standout amongst the best chances to see Naga sadhus, who are antisocial essentially. "It is a confluence of all Naga sadhus at the meeting point of these holy rivers," Anandnad Saraswati, a Naga sadhu from Mathura, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"They meet one another, they interact with one another and they meditate and supplicate here at the holy confluence. They give their message to the people and they transform people," he added. The Nagas live in makeshift monasteries called Akhara during the eight-week Kumbh