The first Monday of auspicious ‘Shravan’ month was observed with fervour. The rituals were carried out peacefully at the age-old Pahari Temple, reeling under the risk of landslide. With proper crowd management system including strict vigilance of district administration, no untoward incident was reported from the shrine that attracts more than 50 thousand devotees annually to the temple on Mondays –considered to be the pious days of ‘Shravan’, a month long affair.
After taking stock of preparations on the eve of first Monday, several elaborate arrangements were done for the pilgrims’ comforts ranging from security to cleanliness. Pilgrims dressed up in saffron colour attire started reaching the temple with offerings since 2 AM.
A long queue of devotees was seen at Pahari Temple. As per the district administration’s order, ‘Argha’ system was adopted for offering water to the main deity situated inside the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple of Shiva Temple. Near the main gate, ‘Argha’ system was installed by the district administration team for the convenience of the devotees while ensuring that no crowd like situation pops up on the hilltop – where the main deity is placed.
As per the members of Pahari Mandir Vikash Samiti, a quite a number of ‘Kawariyas’ who had reached the shrine after collecting water from river Swarnrekha as per the tradition were the one to offer the water to the deity first on Monday.
Elaborate security arrangements were done by the district administration team considering the vulnerability of the spot. All the roads leading to Pahari temple was blocked during the peak hours. The entry of heavy vehicles was completely restricted while only at the designated parking spots demarcated by the district administration, the vehicles were allowed to park. Female policemen were deployed in plain clothes to assist the ladies, in case of emergency alongwith the male battalion.
“The management was such that no devotee had any problem while carrying out the rituals at this temple. No incident of clash has been recorded at any point of the given time. Also, only through ‘Argha’ system, the devotees will be allowed to offer water to the deity on every Mondays, during the month long affair. Security personnel were on their toes throughout the busy day. Some more elements, if required, will be added,” said, Officer (PR), Pahari Mandir Vikash Samiti, Mukesh Agarwal. Meanwhile, rush was seen almost in every temple across the Capital City.
