Taj Mahal to remain closed till further orders
While all major historical monuments across the nation opened on Monday, the Taj Mahal and other world-famous monuments in Agra would not reopen till further orders.
These monuments come under the buffer zone areas outside the containment zone in the district. Agra DM Prabhu N Singh said at present there are 71 active containment zones in the city. Taj Mahal and other monuments fall in the buffer zone.
Baby gharials in Yamuna after a decade
Ghariyals have chosen in a big way to nest and breed in the Yamuna almost after a decade. The ghariyals nested and laid eggs in Bhaupura of Etawah, near 30 km upstream of Yamuna.
The eggs hatched a few days later and the infants swam towards the Yamuna along with the whole clan. The appearance of the baby ghariyals has left environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts pleasantly surprised.
According to reports, 43 baby ghariyals made their way to the river on June 15, drawing a massive crowd of onlookers.
To protect them, a team of forest guards and volunteers has been deployed for round the clock monitoring. In 2011, ghariyals had ventured in the Yamuna near Haraur village for breeding for the first time.
Live aarti, prayers mark Guru Purnima
The Ramakrishna Math in Lucknow live-streamed the morning aarti and other rituals performed especially for Guru Purnima.
The aarti was streamed live on its YouTube channel on Sunday helping the devotees be a witness and a part of the celebrations.
The day began with a ‘mangal aarti’ at 4.30 am and was followed by Vedic chanting, special prayers, a ‘havan’, ‘pushpanjali’ and devotional songs.
While several devotees attended the live session, many others thronged the Math to offer prayers and flowers. Guru Purnima happens to be the birth anniversary of Ved Vyasa, the author of the epic Mahabharata.
UP plants record 25 crore saplings in a day
UP accomplished its target of planting 25 crore saplings during Van Mahotsav in a single day. The state authorities planted 25 crore saplings across the state on Sunday- the fifth day of the week-long Van Mahotsav.
CM Yogi Aditynath led the ‘Plantation Mission 2020’ by planting Harishankari saplings at the Kukrail reserve forest.
So far, 25.87 crore saplings have been planted during the Mahotsav. Authorities said all 75 districts exceeded the target assigned to them during the mission.
Sonbhadra planted a maximum of 82 lakh saplings followed by Lakhimpur Kheri (over 67 lakh) and Prayagraj (over 56 lakh). Unnao achieved a success rate of 114% by planting over 55 lakh trees.