Devotees were allowed to participate in 'Bhasma Aarti' at Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar temple, one of the 12 'jyotirlingas' of Lord Shiva, on Saturday, after a gap of about 17 months amid the Covid-19 pandemic, an official from the shrine management said.
As many as 686 devotees participated in the two-hour ritual performed at 4 am with the opening of the shrine, temple administrator Moolchand Junwal said.
A large number of devotees from across the country participate in this ritual, but the practice was stopped in March last year in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The temple committee chairman and district collector Ashish Singh said in accordance to the committee's decision on September 3, devotees were allowed to take part in Bhasma Aarti from Saturday in compliance with Covid-19 guidelines and protocols. Only priests of the temple have been performing the ritual without devotees for the last 17 months, the official said. According to the temple administration, 1,000 devotees will be permitted to be present for the ritual, entry passes for which can be obtained on the temple's website by uploading necessary documents or can be procured from a kiosk at the temple.