The holy Ashtami Snan, a Hindu religious ritual, was performed at Langalbandh in the holy water of the Brahmaputra on Wednesday.
Like every year, hundreds of thousands of devotees thronged Langalbandh river bank, a renowned pilgrimage of the Hindu communities located on the bank of Brahmaputra, from different parts of the country and abroad with a belief that the dip would purify their sins.
Some 18 ghats were prepared where devotees went to complete the ritual with flower, fruits, paddy and meadow grass.
This year’s bath started at 9:17pm on Tuesday and ended at 10:47pm on Wednesday. The holy ritual is celebrated on the eighth day of the lunar month which falls in the Bengali month of Chaitra.
Most of the devotees expressed their satisfaction regarding the overall management and security measures.
“We took the bath in peaceful manner this year as the water is clean and the overall management was good,” said Choiti Banik, who came from Bhanga area of Faridpur with seven members of her family to perform the ritual.
The Brahmaputra River was cleared of debris and the ghats were renovated on the occasion of the festival. Other preparations were also completed in due time.
Changing facilities, deep tube wells and toilets were arranged for the women pilgrims. Apart from this, primary health care service was also kept ready for pilgrims.
Saroj Kumar Saha, the president of the snan (bathing) celebration committee, said this year they saw huge rush of devotees.
Many pilgrims have come from India, Nepal and other countries to perform the yearly bathing ritual, he also said.
Around one and a half million devotees performed the holy snan at Langalbandh this year, said the organisers.
Saroj Kumar Saha said they set up 40 service camps where some 300 volunteers worked to help the pilgrims.
The devotees sang different devotional songs. Various food items including khichuri were also distributed from temple and service camps.
A huge fair was organised on the bank of Brahmaputra centering the ritual. Different holy books, pictures of gods and goddesses, earthenware, clay pots, bamboo and wood-made products and toys for children were sold at the fair.
Law enforcement agencies took tight security measures on the occasion.
Narayanganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Golam Mostafa Russel said, “The entire area was controlled through CCTV cameras for the safety of the pilgrims. Additional police were also  deployed. Besides, naval police, highway police, coast guard worked.”
A huge traffic was created on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway on Wednesday due to rush of the pilgrims towards Langalbandh.