Updated on Sunday, August 20, 2006, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, Aug 20: After the crowd turnout at Mumbai's Mahim locality to taste "sweet" water of the Arabian Sea, thousands of people tonight thronged temples across Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab to watch deities of Goddess Durga and God Shiva claimed to be drinking milk offered to them by devotees.

In a rerun of similar incidents claimed to have taken place across the country in 1995, a large number of people queued up outside temples in Mathura and nearby holy cities of Vrindavan and Govardhan in UP, Vadodara in Gujarat and Kurukshetra in Haryana and Ludhiana in Punjab following claims that the deities are taking milk offered to them.

"A cup of milk was offered to Durga ji in Rama Nand Ashram Goverdhan this evening and she was not only pleased but has drank all. It is a good omen and the future of the country is bright", noted Saint Mahamandaleshwar Krishna Das Kanchan Maharaj said in Mathura.

Bureau Report