Prayers performed in Agra for road safety

Agra, May 8 (IANS) A dozen important road crossings in this city of the Taj were Thursday 'purged' of evil spirits by performing yagna to propitiate the god of roads.

'An increasing number of road accidents in the past couple of years, resulting in deaths, had left `evil spirits' hovering around these road crossings. Therefore, it was necessary to perform the last rites and other rituals to make the roads and the main crossings in the city safe for commuters,' said Anil Kumar Jain of the Vishwa Jan Kalyan Sewa Samiti that organised the havans Thursday.

Jain said the negative configuration of stars and planetary movements was also a cause for higher number of road accidents.

Some of the major road crossings in the city are Sultan Ganj and Bhagwan Talkies on the national highway to Delhi.

Last year, a group had similarly encouraged `sadak puja' (road worship) by women to ensure safety of their dear ones.