The holy month of Shravan has started and the devotion among the pilgrims is at its peak in the city. More than 50,000 devotees reached Pahari Temple, (the historic temple of State Capital), to offer prayers to Lord Shiva on the first Monday of the auspicious month of Shravan, said the temple authorities on Monday.
“Offering prayers on the first Monday of the shravan, is believed to bring happiness and prosperity,” Arun Sharma, the priest at the Pahari temple, said. Since morning other Shiva temples here also saw long queues, he added. Nilam Sinha, who offered prayers at Pahari temple , said, “I have visited here after a long time and I’m very happy with the arrangements provided by the temple authorities. After all offering holy water to Shivlinga on the first Monday of the holy month is so challenging because of the huge turnout but I still managed it.”
Around 300 police personnel are deployed on the premises of the temple to tackle the footfall of the pilgrims. Women security and privacy special protection group, ‘Naari Seva’, has been deployed to ensure hassle free worship. Besides, Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has also taken the major responsibility for maintaining cleanliness across the temple premises. Accessible dustbins, hygienic washrooms and attendees are some facilities by the RMC.
With about 450 stairs, the temple management has set up two different pathways for devotees and have provided three medical aid units to deal with the emergencies. Meanwhile, Pahari Mandir Vikash Samiti, the administrative body of the temple, on Monday said that at least 16 CCTV cameras are installed on the lower temple premises and 15 CCTV cameras for monitoring the main shrine. Moreover, the temple management has also provided the holy water and milk facilities which is used to offer the shivlingam for the devotees.
There were also devotees who came from outside the State to offer prayers to Lord Shiva.
Ashish K.C and his wife, who came all the way from Madhya Pradesh, praised the cleanliness of the Pahari Temple complex. K.C said, “We have heard about this temple’s craze during the shravan month,so this year we came here to worship. The temple is very attractive and the most appealing part of the temple was its cleanliness, no litter could be found anywhere on the temple premises,”
Devotees carrying ‘Belpatra’, coconuts, Ghee, ‘Dhatura flower’, and milk offerings were queued up outside the temple and waited for the three major Artis performed at the shrine since early morning.