LUCKNOW, June 10 -- Devotees thronged Hanuman temples and participated in community feasts (bhandaras) organised at several places across the city to mark the sixth Bada Mangal on Tuesday. Long queues of devotees could be seen at Hanuman temple at Aliganj, Purane Hanuman Mandir, Hanuman Setu, Hanumant Dham and Lete Hanuman Mandir among others where devotional events were also held. At the Aliganj temple, devotees offered prayers, fed prasad to cows and recited the Hanuman Chalisa. One devotee travelled nearly 1,200 km from Hyderabad to Lucknow on the auspicious occasion. A number of organisations and residents hosted bhandaras, distributing puri-sabzi, halwa, sherbet, ice cream and other refreshments to devotees. In Gomti Nagar, community feasts were organised by Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini. The regional transport office arranged a bhandara at the Hanuman temple in Transport Nagar where RTO officer Arun Kumar Varshney, accompanied by his wife, performed rituals and distributed prasad along with department officials and other staff. Another bhandara was organised at the residence of Lucknow East MLA OP Srivastava in Indira Nagar, drawing thousands of devotees throughout the day. Several leaders, including BJP state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh, finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, MoS for forest and environment Dr Arun Kumar Saxena, social welfare minister Asim Arun, MLCs Mukesh Sharma and Avneesh Patel, BJP Lucknow Mahanagar president Anand Dwivedi and other public representatives attended the event. Speaking on the occasion, MLA O.P. Srivastava described Bada Mangal as a symbol of Lucknow's rich cultural and religious heritage that promotes service, cooperation and social harmony. htc...