Prayer turns to pain at Varanasi ghat

Dec 08, 2010 |

Varanasi

The sound of chanting of mantras reverberating in the air during the “Ganga aarti” in this holy town turned into wails of people with the bang of an explosion Tuesday evening.

The crowd, including a large number of foreign tourists, were witnessing ceremonial aarti of the Ganga at a ghat here. Soon after it got over and people were getting ready to leave when a loud explosion struck the area.
The noise of the blast triggered panic among the people who ran helter-skelter for their lives.
“We had gathered here for an ganga mayee aarti and were getting ready to leave when a loud noise was heard and we ran for our lives. Ghats had been the target previously also,” said an eyewitness.
The UP police said probably the bomb was kept inside a crack on the stairs of the ghat but refused to comment on its composition.
The stairs made of huge stones broke into small pieces and an under-construction wall came crashing down.
Soon after the incident, there was minor stampede in which some railings were also broken.
The area was strewn with footwears, puja material, bags and other items.
—PTI

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