Rituals and vaastu mark Yogi’s house-warming 

Elaborate poojas performed as priests from Gorakhpur cleanse the new CM’s residence.
Yogi Adityanath at a meeting of police officers in Lucknow on Monday | pTI
Yogi Adityanath at a meeting of police officers in Lucknow on Monday | pTI

LUCKNOW: The entry into the new official residence had to be auspicious. As the dawn broke on Monday, the surroundings of 5 Kalidas Marg were abuzz with activity.

A bunch of saffron-clad priests, who came all the way from Gorakhdam Math, the mahant of which had taken over as Chief Minister, were on their toes with marigold malas and thalis with pooja samagri. ‘Swastik’ in vermillion was being drawn on the gates and ‘Shubh-Labha’ was being inscribed painstakingly.

The quest was to cleanse the premises and purify for the new incumbent. “Chhote Maharaj ji (as the yogi is known among his bhakts) bhog vilas se door hain, woh saada jeevan jeetein hain, isliye jo bhi taamsi aur rajsi vatavaran hai use shuddhikaran puja se door kiya gaya (Yogi keeps away from luxury and affluence. He lives a simple life.

So whatever ostentatious and negative vibes were there, they have been mitigated),” said Praveen Shastri, one of the five purohits who came from Gorakhpur for the shudhhikarana pooja (purification) ceremony.

Yogi Adityanath, after taking over the reins of UP, had decided not to shift to his new accommodation without proper pooja and havan. He is also believed to have decided the shubh muhurat for the shifting which arrived later in the evening when the Yogi himself stepped in to be a part of the grih pravesh (house warming) ceremony. As per the stars, the CM had to reach the new house at 1pm but as he was pre-occupied with his meeting with officers, he reached there after 5 pm for 15 minutes to hold the rudrabhishek (special puja of  Lord Siva) himself. 

“Even vaastu yantra and vastu puja have also been performed to get the CM's residence rid of evil eye,” Shastri said. Though no date was announced for his formal shifting to his new residence, the ‘Gorakshhpeethadhheshwar’ (Yogi Adityanath) is expected to move to his new accommodation by March 28.

Slaughter house sealed
Following the UP government’s announcement to shut mechanised abattoirs and illegal slaughter houses operating in the State, the Allahabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) stepped out to seal a slaughter house at Atala locality after finding it to be running in violation of all norms for the last nine months even after the orders of its closure.

The manifesto of state’s ruling party promises to close down all the mechanised abattoirs in the state and the government promised to bring an ordinance in this respect in the very first formal cabinet meeting. However, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen slammed the move and demanded that the civic body revokes the order.

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