Gaya: Pilgrims visiting Gaya during the upcoming world-famous Pitripaksh Mela will experience the city’s rich religious and cultural heritage through a laser light show on the banks of the Falgu river. To showcase the importance of Gaya, the revival of the long-defunct light-and-sound system at Brahmasatya Sarovar has also been planned.The proposals were among the key decisions taken at a meeting of the Gaya Municipal Corporation’s (GMC) standing committee held on Tuesday. This year’s fortnight-long Pitripaksh Mela is scheduled to begin on Sept 26 and conclude on Oct 10.Mayor Virendra Kumar alias Ganesh Paswan presided over the meeting, which was conducted by empowered standing committee member Akhauri Onkarnath alias Mohan Shrivastava.“The laser show will highlight the religious and cultural heritage of landmarks such as the Vishnupad Temple, Falgu river and Bodh Gaya. The multimedia presentation is aimed at offering pilgrims an introduction to the city’s spiritual and cultural legacy,” Shrivastava said.The mayor said, “As part of the beautification drive, the mela area will be illuminated with LED lights along major roads, religious sites and pind daan locations. Selfie points, LED display panels, decorative installations, welcome gates and thematic hoardings will be installed across the mela area to enhance the pilgrims’ experience.”Municipal commissioner Gagan Kumar said, “A round-the-clock sanitation drive will be carried out using modern equipment, with dedicated teams monitoring waste collection and cleanliness throughout the mela area.”“The committee also approved a pre-mela cleaning drive of the Falgu river using cleaning boats to remove silt and garbage so that pilgrims can perform pind daan, tarpan and shraddh rituals in a cleaner environment,” he said.
