Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Japanese counterpart arrived at the Dashashwamedh ghat in Varanasi to loud cheers on Saturday evening.
Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe took part in Ganga Stuti amid chanting mantras and loud chanting of "Har har Mahadev." The ghat which is decked up for the occasion attracted many people.
Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav , Union Minister Kalraj Mishra and Manoj Sinha.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made around the ancient temple and ghat for the visit.
Security at the normally crowded ghat has been taken over by the Army and the Navy while scuba divers of the National Disaster Response Force will be deployed around the make-shift stage which has been erected with the help of pontoons on the river bed.
Personnel of the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) have been camping in the city since Tuesday.
They are being assisted by the National Security Guard, Anti-Terrorist Squad, Central Para Military Forces and the state police.
Earlier in the day, India and Japan agreed to take the civil nuclear deal forward but conceded that a lot of technical discussions remain incomplete. >Read more
