RAIPUR: Around 50,000 people have taken a pledge to work for the unity and integrity of the nation, and for the conservation of rivers, during the ongoing Rajim Kumbh mela in Chhattisgarh, in an attempt by the state government to leverage religious feelings for national and environmental causes.
The atmosphere at the confluence of the rivers Mahanadi, Sondu and Pairi at Rajim, some 40 km east of state capital Raipur, was suffused with religious flavour as the sound of conch shells blown by over 2,100 people wafted over the air on Thursday. The Golden Book of World Record recognised the blowing of conch shells by so many people as a world record. A day earlier, another record was created when over 3.5 lakh earthen oil lamps were lit on the banks of the rivers in the presence of Hindu saints and devotees from across the state.
The figure surpassed the two lakh lamps lit on the banks of river Saryu in Ayodhya when Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath attended prayers there on Diwali eve last year.
The pledge was administered on both days to visitors. There were ten sessions of blowing of conch shells, sending waves of devotional feeling through the atmosphere.
The event was organised by the government’s Department of Religious Trusts and Endowments and Water Resources. “It was an occasion to take a pledge for the country’s unity and progress, world peace and safeguarding our rivers, when people from different castes, cultures and communities participated,” said Brijmohan Agrawal, minister in charge of the department.
The Kumbh will conclude on Mahashivratri on February 13.