CM Yogi performs Rudrabhishek, havan in Gkp on Shrawan Shivratri
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Gorakhpur
: Chief Minister and Gorakshpeethadhishwar Yogi Adityanath performed Rudrabhishek at the ancient Mansarovar Temple in Gorakhpur's Andhiyari Bagh on the occasion of Shrawan Shivratri on Wednesday.
The CM prayed for the well-being, peace, and prosperity of the people of the state.
The rituals were performed on the Chaturdashi of Krishna Paksha of the Shrawan month. The CM offered bilva leaves, lotus, durva grass, water, cow milk, and sugarcane juice while performing the abhishek amid vedic mantras by scholars from Gorakhnath Temple. The rituals concluded with havan and aarti.
Head priest of Gorakhnath temple Yogi Kamalnath, MP Ravi Kishan, mayor Manglesh Srivastava, MLA Vipin Singh, MLC Dharmendra Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, in a unique gesture to honour devotees, flowers were showered on the devotees in Gorakhpur and Sant Kabir Nagar. Acting on the CM's directives, a helicopter was deployed to shower flower petals over the sea of devotees at temples including Gorakhnath temple, Manasrovar temple, Mukteshwar Nath temple, Jharkhandi Mahadev temple, Munjeshwar Nath temple (Bhauvapar), Mateshwar Shiv temple (Pipraich), and Tameshwar Nath temple in Sant Kabir Nagar.
This aerial tribute is a part of the state's broader Shrawan initiative aiming to ensure smooth arrangements for pilgrims while showing respect for their devotion.
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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
From drone mapping to removing water hyacinth, how a river was brought back to life in Uttar Pradesh
Till early February, there was no visible sign of the Noon river that once meandered through Kanpur district's Rampur Narua village. Locals say an infestation of the jal kumbhi (water hyacinth), which affects water flow and aquatic life, had rendered the thriving river indistinguishable from the fields it once snaked through. At Rampur Narua, its origin point, today, the river flows nearly six feet wide — the result of a state-wide river rejuvenation programme as part of which every district in the state has been tasked with reviving at least one river in their jurisdiction. In Kanpur, the district administration decided to revive the Noon, one of the district's four forgotten rivers, since it had been blocked due to the jal kumbhi and construction debris, and had not dried up like the others. River rejuvenation efforts in the state — which started nearly two years ago — gathered pace since the Saryu Mahotsav in Ayodhya was inaugurated on June 5 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who gave a target of 'one district, one river'. Across Uttar Pradesh, its 75 districts have been racing against time to achieve this target — from digging through over 40-year-old satellite images and revenue records; using drone surveys; to seeking technical expertise from the Remote Sensing Application Centre under the state's Science and Technology Department, Lucknow's Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), IITs Kanpur and BHU, the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee and the Clean Ganga Project. Standing next to the gushing Noon, Rampur Narua gram panchayat secretary Anjali Pandey said, 'Work on reviving the river began on February 22 onwards. It is finished now.' The 48.5-km Noon spans 34 gram panchayats, originating from Rampur Narua's Kanhaiya lake and culminating into the Ganga near Bithoor. Besides old satellite images, the Noon was also mapped with the help of drones and remote surveys, which revealed the river had become too narrow in places or had dry patches. Officials said they had to work on almost half of the river's natural path, measuring around 24 km. 'Bahut mushkil hui thi convince karne mein (convincing the villagers to help with the river's revival was tough),' said Pandey, who roped in local women to convince the other villagers to participate in the exercise, either through shramdaan (volunteer work) or under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Beside the flowing river, a bright yellow plaque — with a blue border and MGNREGA project details, and three red steps — is the only sign of the herculean task undertaken from February 22 onwards. Sources said divisional-level committees, comprising technical experts and divisional officials from nearly 10 departments, including forest, agriculture, irrigation, horticulture, fisheries, etc., started being formed in the state in 2024. In case of rivers flowing through two or more districts, a joint action plan was prepared. Encroachment and dumping of waste in these water bodies was found to be the biggest hurdle. A surprising revelation in many cases was the fact that decades-old nallahs (drains) were, in fact, once thriving nadis (rivers). The Noon had mostly dried up due to a jal kumbhi infestation. 'In other places, huge boulders were blocking the river's flow,' say officials. Ramesh Kumar, 55, a farmer who owns a 2.5-bigha field next to the Noon adds, 'The infestation dried up years ago, blocking the flow of water. During the monsoon, the water would overflow into all nearby fields. The receding flood water would leave silt behind, rendering the fields useless for nearly four months annually from June onwards,' However, reviving the Noon was easier said than done, said Pandey, whose attempts were initially rebuffed as a 'futile exercise'. She said, 'I managed to convince a group of women from the village about the importance of reviving the Noon and why it might actually come back this time. That group helped spread this message far and wide. Walking along the dry riverbed, these women would sing slogans like 'Hum sabne milke thana hai, Noon nadi ko fir se jeewant karaana hai (we are all determined to revive the Noon)',' she said. To convince the locals, gram panchayat officials, including the pradhan (village head), District Magistrate, Chief Development Officer (CDO) and other officials 'volunteered' to clear the riverbed. Explaining the revival process in detail, CDO Diksha Jain said, 'After studying the old maps available with the irrigation department, experts were able to pinpoint the Noon's starting point.' Ground surveys by MGNREGA, irrigation and panchayati raj officials, and old records revealed that the Noon once flowed through three blocks — Shivrajpur, Chaubeypur and Kalyanpur — that span the 34 panchayats, she said, adding that the entire river was then mapped by a drone. 'To adopt the correct methodology for the Noon's revival, we approached the Remote Sensing Centre. Satellite imagery by the centre showed that the problem areas (dry patches or shallow riverbeds) mostly lay in the river's upper channel. In case of the lower stretch, just clearing that channel could help restore the natural flow of water,' said Jain, adding that Noon's restoration cost the district about Rs 1.22 crore, with a major portion comprising wages under the MGNREGA. 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This season, I simply made a check dam by the river. I have sowed maize in my field. I hope the river doesn't flood my land this year.' The river's revival has also breathed new life into the dwindling popularity of the rural job scheme. Raj Kumar was among those who worked for the river's rejuvenation. 'I earned Rs 25,000 for the three-month project under the MGNREGA,' he said. Rampur Narua panchayat secretary Pandey adds, 'In the financial year 2023-24, our panchayat generated just 1,200 man days (under MGNREGA). The three-month Noon project generated 1,760 man days in our panchayat alone.' Claiming that the rejuvenation of nearly 50 rivers is 'almost complete', a state official added, 'Most revived rivers across the state flow through more than one district. Some of these have been revived after almost six decades. In fact, most of these rivers were completely forgotten over time.' Venkatesh Dutta, a professor at BBAU and a technical expert on the Lucknow division's expert committee on river rejuvenation, said, 'After detailed surveys, a list of about 50 small rivers was made. After expert institutes were roped in, 25 more rivers were added to the list.' Stating that mere desilting of a river or clearing of vegetation was passed off as its rejuvenation earlier, he added, 'Our current intervention, besides re-establishing the natural flow of the river and its basin, includes defining the floodplain, removing encroachments and legacy waste, and creating vegetation patches along these rivers with the forest department's help.' Giving the example of Lucknow's Kukrail river, Prof Dutta said, 'The Kukrail was known as a nallah in the city for decades. A 1985 satellite image revealed that it was, in fact, a 28-km river that passed through the city and the forest. About 5 km of encroachments have been removed so far. 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Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Rose petal shower on kanwariyas & devotees on third Shrawan Somvar
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Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Kashi turns saffron as devotees throng KVT, other Shiv temples on 3rd Shrawan Somvar
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