The Deoghar district administration has made elaborate arrangement as part of Shravani Mela and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit.
As the Shravani Mela is being organized at pandemic time, the district administration has issued directives so that spread of virus can be controlled. Awareness about Covid protocols to be followed at mela. There will be kiosks at Kawarayia path spreading awareness about Covid guidelines. Health workers will make people aware about Covid guidelines such as use of sanitizers and use of masks among others.
Face masks and Covid-19 vaccination certificates have been made mandatory for entering the sanctum sanctorum of Baidyanath Dham temple in Deoghar during the holy month of Shravan, beginning July 14.
“Since Covid-19 cases are on the rise and the month-long fair will draw lakhs of devotees, we will be issuing an advisory asking that people with comorbidities, pregnant women, minors and people from the high risk age groups to refrain from attending the fair for their own safety. Face masks will be made mandatory for entering the temple and devotees will have to follow Covid appropriate behaviour,” Deoghar civil surgeon Dr C K Sahi.
The Shravani Mela draws approximately 20 lakh devotees to Deoghar every year. With the fair remaining closed for two years due to the pandemic, administrative officials are expecting a higher footfall this year.
As part of security arrangement apart from 300 forces of Deoghar district, around 12 thousand police force will be deputed by the government from other police forces including 20 districts of the state. Apart from this, drone cameras and command control systems are also to be used during the Shravani Mela.
In this regard, SP Subhash Chandra Jat said that policemen have been deputed under security arrangements during PM Modi's arrival at Deoghar and Shravani Mela on July 12. He said that that the policemen who would be deputed to Deoghar would behave decently with the Kanwariyas. At the same time, the security of Baba Mandir will be beefed up.
He said that the police will keep an eye on every single person. The police will be ready 24 hours in three shifts to avoid any untoward incident. In view of this, the arrival of policemen in Deoghar will start from July 8. These policemen will be deputed in Deoghar district till August 19.
SP Jat said that eight IPS officers will reach Deoghar for security and peace arrangements regarding PM Modi's program. At the same time, during the Shravani Mela, from July 8 to August 10, 2022, two senior IPS officers are likely to be deputed for crowd control. Apart from this, officers of Inspector level will also reach Deoghar on a large scale.