🌌Nearly 18,500 prison inmates across Chhattisgarh on Tuesday took a `holy bath' with water brought from the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj where the Maha Kumbh is underway, an official said here.
♔The "punya snan" was held in a special 'kund' (tank) set up in 33 prisons -- five central jails, 20 district jails and eight sub-jails, Deputy Inspector General (Prison) S S Tigga told PTI Videos.
ꦑThe "sacred water" from Prayagraj was mixed in regular water in the tanks. Videos from jails in Durg, Bilaspur, Surguja and Kabirdham districts showed 'snan kunds' decorated with flowers, and prayers being offered ahead of the bath.
𝔉Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds charge of the Home portfolio, brought the holy water from Prayagraj which was distributed to the prisons, said Tigga.
🔯There was a lot of excitement among prisoners who chanted "Har Har Gange" and expressed happiness over the arrangement, he added.
♐"We are fortunate that we got the opportunity to take a holy bath with water from Maa Ganga. We never thought we will get such a chance in our life, which became possible with the initiative of the government and jail administration," Ghasiram Yadav, an inmate at the Raipur Central Jail, said.
ಞAn official of Dhamtari district jail said all 239 prisoners took a holy bath.
🌺"The purpose was to make prisoners experience spiritual purification and improve their mental health. `Ganga-jal' (water of the Ganga river) is considered sacred and a symbol of purification in Indian culture," he said.
ཧThe jail administration believes that a bath with Ganga-jal will give mental peace to prisoners, strengthen them spiritually, and inspire them to bring about self-transformation, adopt positive thinking and live a better life by joining the mainstream, the official added.
