Defying severe cold wave, devotees gather for holy dip in River Ganga at Varanasi

Varanasi: Despite a severe cold wave coupled with dense fog in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, people on Sunday thronged to take a holy dip in the river Ganga because of their "devotion for the Lord".

The northern part of India including the national capital and most parts of Uttar Pradesh is under the grip of chilling winter with temperatures dipping as low as 4 degrees Celsius.

According to the India Meteorological Department, dense fog in a few pockets is very likely over east Uttar Pradesh today.

Speaking to ANI, a resident and devotee, Pratik Tiwari, who had come to take the holy dip in river Ganga, said, "Cold will come & go, but celebrating New Year, visiting the Kashi Vishwanath corridor & bathing in the Ganga River is very fortunate. There cannot be a better beginning of a New Year than this."

Another resident Sanjay Kumar Panday told ANI that irrespective of the temperature and weather conditions, he takes a dip in the Ganges every day.

"No matter how much the cold be, we take a dip in the Ganga river every day of the year. We are devoted to the goddess and we take a dip here every day," he said.

A devotee, Suresh Singh said that they have come in this severe winter to take dip only because of their devotion to river Ganga.

"We have come here because of the blessings of the river Ganga. There is dense fog and it is very cold, still, we have come because of our devotion," he said.

With temperatures in the northern part of India including the national capital and Uttar Pradesh, falling, people are finding it difficult to keep warm.