VARANASI, Jan. 29 -- Lanes and roads leading to Ghats in Varanasi were packed with pilgrims on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya on Wednesday and a very large crowd of devotees reached the city from the Mahakumbh. The size of the crowd stretched the police and district administration to the limits.

According to an estimate, around 10 lakh people took holy dip.

The monitoring of the crowd was done from the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) through dozens of drones and 2,500 CCTV cameras, police officials said. Tethered CCTV cameras were also employed. For the safety of the devotees in River Ganga, NDRF teams, Jal Police, PAC, Flood Relief Team, SDRF personnel were also deployed.

Devotees offered prayers to Baba Kashi Vishwanath ...