With Mahashivratri edging closer, preparations of the members of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti are in full swing for Shivbarat. Hordes of devotees of lord Shiva from across the city and its adjoining areas are converging at Pahari Mandir to mark this auspicious occasion to be observed on Feburary 27.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Vinay Kumar Choubey who also happens to be the chairperson of the Samiti said, “Samiti members have pulled up their socks to make this years celebration larger than life. like every year, this time also members will take out Shiv Barat and tableaux depicting the shivkatha.” The major hindu festival is observed across the country and Pahari Mandir committee members are expecting around thousands visitors at the temple. To make the occasion hassle-free the members have decided to form a separate committee to manage the crowd.
One of the founder members of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti Daya Shankar Bunty throwing light on this said, “The administration will deploy its officials for keeping a close eye on the visitors. The committee members will oversee other aspects such as managing the line of devotees, security and publicity.” He further added that last year pilgrims complain that the committee failed to handle the crowd as they had to stand-up for three to four hours in line waiting. This year the committee has decided to nip in the problem and ensure that everyone can worship lord Shiva within minutes. Interestingly, according to sources this year the members are planning to take out two barats for Shiva.
A member explained, “Both the committee has decided to separately celebrate the auspicious occasion. A major dispute broke out between the two a couple of months ago which forced the members to land on this decision. However, the members are waiting for the DC approval on this.” Sadar sub- divisional officer Amit Kumar called a meeting on Monday to hold a discussion over it. “This is not the right time to make any comment after meeting will break the news in-front of media,” added Kumar.