Ganga Dussehra or Ganga Dashmi is celebrated in the Braj area to commemorate the appearance of Ganges on the earth, from heaven.

‘While the ghats wore a deserted look, people chose to cross the river and look for spots with less polluted and more water for the parv snaan," said Jagdish Prasad, a shop keeper of Vrindavan.

From a trickle the number of devotees increased to thousands by 8am. After the bath and puja of the river, pilgrims in the twin holy towns bought 'kakdis, water melons’. 

This year, the markets have been flooded with kharboojas (musk melons) and water melons, selling cheap at ₹10 a kg. "It is considered particularly auspicious to offer water melons to temples and priests alongwith sharbat," said a panda Girraj Kishore.

After the morning ritualistic bath in the Yamuna, later in the day groups of boys jostled for space for the traditional kite flying competitions. Music maestro Acharya Jaimini told Samiksha Bharti News Service, ‘kite flying was the highlight of the Ganga Dussehra festival. Bazar committees hung kalash with money which went to the winners. Thousands participated in Vrindavan Parikrama and offered special puja at Gopeshwar temple. Jal Daan (water cool and refreshing in the form of lassi, sharbat) was arranged for the parikramarthies.’ The demand for fancy kites was high. Obama and Modi both were in the air Thursday after noon, as will be scores of Bollywood actors after whom the kites had been named.

"It is the biggest festival of summer when heat is at its peak. Sharbat and milk rose pyaoos were be put up by charity organisations at various places and special puja of the Yamuna organised at the ghats," said Radhey Shyam, a panda at Vishram Ghat in Mathura.

In Vrindavan, the municipal chairman Mukesh Gautam claimed adequate preparations had made on the ghats to provide facilities for thousands who congregated for the holy bath.

"Over a week ago, state PWD minister Shiv Pal Yadav had promised immediate release of 300 cusecs of water. But only a trickle has arrived. Due to silting and ecroachments the river has already distanced itself from the main ghats. Boats will ferry pilgrims to the other side for a holy snaan," said Jugal Goswami.

Locals were upset at the lack of facilities at the ghats and on the "panch-kosi-parikrama' route. On the ghats the scene resembled one of a huge fair. Though municipal officers had claimed there would be a special cleanliness drive but residents living along Cheer Ghat, Keshi Ghat, Shringar Ghat said the garbage dumps had not been removed and stinking smell had made life difficult for them.