HARDWAR : A Communal Dip
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Against a backdrop of escalating terrorist attacks by Sikh militants in the area, Indian police are taking unprecedented precautions to protect at least 8 million Hindu pilgrims expected to gather on the banks of the Ganges River around this holy North Indian city Monday for Ardh Kumbh Mela, a once-every-dozen-years bathing ritual.
Police have flooded the region, erecting scores of metal detectors. Anti-sabotage teams have been combing the riverbanks for weeks and, on festival day, dozens of bomb-sniffing dogs will join the throngs.
To guard against the kind of stampede that left 46 pilgrims trampled to death during a different 1986 ritual, four new steel-truss bridges have been built over the river.
Authorities have also installed closed circuit television at the busiest of bathing spots and added 17 new police substations and a hospital.
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