In a bid to give national exposure to Shravani Mela in Deoghar and Basukinath, the State Government is leaving no stone unturned to provide facilities for the devotees who would be visiting the famous Shaktipeeth at Deoghar. So much so that Chief Minister Raghubar Das is inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of various States to attend the Mela this year.
Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sunil Kumar Barnwal, today said that portraying a positive picture of the Shravani Mela was a must given the significance of it. He said that the government has provided a host of facilities for the devotees and media persons so that an encouraging image of the event can be built across the country.
Barnwal said that any lacuna in the arrangements can be reported on WhatsApp group by media persons so that it can be addressed at the earliest. He said that the devotees can directly tweet to CM Raghubar das on his Twitter handle @dasraghubar and tell their problem to be solved by the government. During the mela CM will directly talk to the devotees from time to time, he added.
He also discussed in detail about the facilities and set ups provided by the government during the mela and said that the government wants to promote it not only as a national but global event.
Notably, with quite a number of facilities enfolded for devotees, Deoghar’s famous Baidynath temple is all set for the pious ‘Shravan month’. Adding more comforts, colours and variance to the shrine, the district administration has adopted more than seven unique ways to provide ease to the pilgrims during a month long affair. From beefing up the security to using cool paint on the roads to espousing new concepts of publicity and entertainment, the district administration team is leaving no stone unturned to cater to the requirements of devotees.
For the first time, the district administration has painted the stretches of tarmac road within Deoghar with cool paint coating made of acrylic polymer-based material. This insulation paint reflects heat from the beneath surface and hence keeps the surface cool for an entire day.
Besides, for the ease of the pilgrims, the State government will make provision for ‘Tent City’ categorized in different groups, especially for those who during the pious month will be unable to reserve rooms in hotels and ‘Dharamshalas’.
Using 3D virtual technique, replicas of four divine destinations covering all 12 ‘Jyotirling’ of India have been designed to captivate the interest of devotees.
The district administration has installed two large lED screens (42 inches) on temple premises for live telecast of special prayers and rituals being performed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple.
Arrangements such as ‘Mist Shower systems’ to provide respite to the visitors during the heavy crowd, identification of 95 points for releasing water on devotees inside the main temple under the concept of ‘Indra Varsha’ is being initiated.
As per the district administration officials, installation of advanced weather and climate monitoring system to get first hand information about the exact conditions - temperature, humidity, and fog has been completed inside the temple.
From the perspective of devotees’ safety, the respective district administration has chalked out a detailed proposal to prevent any untoward incident. Deputation of 12,000 security personnel on the spot is on the cards. The arrangement of centralized control room which will be directly connected to Chief Ministers Office (CMO) has been ensured this year. Further, helium balloons with drone cameras fixed on it will capture the activities going on the spot 24x7.
Also, these helium balloons will have details of major State government’s schemes scribbled on it.
Nearly 200 CCTV cameras have been put in within the premises of the temple for surveillance. Around 11 Traffic Out- Posts alongwith 18 Police OT have been set up covering the temple periphery. Five high mast lights have been arranged for better visibility.
In addition, a separate disaster management unit primarily for better crowd management has been set up on the land owned by the district administration. “To deal with emergency-like situation like stampede, bomb hoax etc the district administration has decided to use vacant land for evacuation of a large crowd at a safe place in a short time, hence, a unit of disaster management has been made here,” said, an official of Deogarh district administration.
Further, bringing all essential medical services, under one roof ‘Suvidha Bhawan’ will be made functional as soon as this mega fair kicks start. According to an official from Deogarh Public Relation Office, the remedial centre has been designed in a way that the medical facilities ranging from basics -- first-aid to dealing with a few major ailments on emergency basis can be dealt here.
Following the initiatives under ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan’, the discarded temple wastes will be converted into ‘Green Manure’ at a pit having a capacity of handling more than a tonne solid waste. Arrangements of approximately 2,000 toilets have been made by the district administration to ensure that the Open Defecation Free (ODF) tag is retained by the district, even during a heavy rush.