On the second Monday of Shrawan period, a large number of Kanwadias reached the Neelkanth Mahadev temple to conduct Jalabhishek. Till 3 PM many lakhs of devotees had visited this shrine. Pauri Senior Superintendent of Police Jagat Ram Joshi who is posted at lakshmanjhula said that he was monitoring the activities at the temple with the rush of pilgrims peaking post afternoon. The flow of visitors was not affected by a spell of rain which lasted a couple of hours during the morning.
The Neelkant Mahadev Kanwad Mela started on July 9 and will end on August 7. The number of pilgrims visiting this shrine in Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district has been rising by the year. The number of pilgrims visiting the shrine was about 22 lakh in 2014, 30 lakh in 2015 and more than 35 lakh in 2016 with the number expected to rise higher this year. The authorities have made it mandatory for the pilgrims to register themselves. While the district administration claims to have made all necessary arrangements, the condition of roads has been affected by landslides and similar factors.