As a crane lowers a 5-tonne cement block into Omkareshwar Dam from the black barge, Ajeet Yadav dives after it into the deep of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district.

To manage the expected crowd of over one lakh devotees coming for Narmada bath, the administration has made it necessary to get permission for events and bhandaras in Omkareshwar. Madhya Pradesh ...