Pandas (priests) stayed away from the ghats and traders kept their shops closed in Sultanganj on Sunday in protest against the district administration which removed alleged encroachers and arrested criminal elements in the crowd.

At least 1.25 lakh people had gathered at Sidhi Ghat till 4pm to collect water from the Ganga on their way to Deoghar in Jharkhand. Pandas usually conduct rituals before the pilgrims can proceed to their destination but their absence made things difficult.

"We don't have any option for conducting sankalp as there is not a single panda here," said Sandeep Kumar, a pilgrim from Assam's Sivasagar district. Anita Devi, another pilgrim from Danapur, said all the shops near Sidhi Ghat and Jahaj Ghat were closed.

The shopkeepers are protesting against police for chasing away from the riverbank many pandas without identify cards and destroying shops and kiosks encroaching upon the riverbanks.

An officer in Sultanganj said around 25 people, including some pandas, were picked up after the police received complaints about encroachment of government land in the Shravani Mela areas.

Kumar Anuj, Bhagalpur sadar sub-divisional officer, said only original pandas are allowed around the riverbank but as criminals often strike in the guide of the priests, identity cards were issued this year.

"We found many pandas who did not have any idea about the shlokas or mantras for the rituals, so we drove them out from the ghats," he said.