Amid religious fervour, thousands of devotees, who have gathered to Sri Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib here, would participate in hoisting of Jhanda Sahib scheduled to take place on Sunday. Starting in the morning, the religious ceremony would continue till evening.

According to Darbar Sri Guru Ram Rai Ji Maharaj’s coordinator Vishnu Kumar Nautiyal, the ceremony would start at 8 am. In presence of thousands of devotees, Jhanda Ji would be lowered in the morning. Devotees would offer plain cover, commonly known as Sada Gilaf which would be followed by offering of velvet covers.

In the meantime, devotees would seek blessings from Maharaj Ji by offering flowers and garlands. He said that this year, Narendra Singh, devotee from Mohali, Punjab would offer Darshani Galef. During evening, Jhanda Ji would be hoisted. Nautiyal said that though the fair would officially conclude on April 2, it would be continued till April 20.

He claimed that all the arrangements, including lodging and food for the devotees coming from different parts of country as well as Canada and USA, have already been made. We are hoping arrival of more than five lakh devotees in the event. As part of security arrangements, a total of 24 CCTVs have been set up to ensure foolproof security arrangements.

Moreover, Deputy Inspector General of Dehradun range Amit Sinha directed the Senior Superintendent of Police to review the security arrangements for the Jhanda Mela that receives devotees from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. He asked the SSP to carry out anti-sabotage checking at various locations, including railway station, bus station and other public places. He directed the SSP to prepare a complete security map and identify the sensitive locations in order to ensure peaceful passage of the fair.

He said that the shops along the road should be shifted to certain distance in order to ensure smooth passage of traffic.

He also asked the SSP to place fire tenders at the locations from where they could reach the spot instantly in case of any such incident. He has instructed the officials to suppress the rumors then and there and ensure strict action those indulged in creating such nuisance. Such elements should be dealt sternly, the DIG said, adding that common man should be made aware that they should inform the police immediately if they notice any unclaimed article.