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Lakhs of kanwariyas throng Shiv temples in Meerut, Baghpat on Shivratri
With the rush of devotees to continue whole night at these temples, the temple management is expecting the influx of over 25 lakh kanwariyas here.
Over seven lakh kanwariyas offered Gangajal at Puramahadev temple of Baghpat and Augharnath temple in Meerut on the occasion of Shivratri on Tuesday.
With the rush of devotees to continue whole night at these temples, the temple management is expecting the influx of over 25 lakh kanwariyas here.
The kanwariyas have congregated in large numbers in and outside both the temples waiting for their turn to offer Gangajal brought from Haridwar, Rishikesh and other places while covering hundreds of kilometres on foot.
SP Baghpat’s PRO Pradeep Kumar said that over 5 lakh kanwariyas have offered jal at Puramahadev temple till Tuesday afternoon and the ritual would continue throughout the night. “Lakhs of kanwariyas were still waiting for their turn to offer jal to Lord Shiva,” said the PRO while district magistrate of Baghpat Rajkamal Yadav and SP Neeraj Kumar Jadaun are camping at the temple to monitor the rush.
Over 1000 cops of civil police, PAC and RAF have been deployed in and around the temple to ensure safety and security of kanwariyas. A four-day Sawan Mela also began at the temple from Monday and kanwariyas are expected to visit the temple till the mela continues.
In Meerut, over 1.5 lakh kanwariyas had offered Gangajal to the Shivling at the historic Augharnath temple. The temple was the centre of the activities of revolutionaries during first war of independence against the British in 1857.
Temple management committee secretary Satish Kumar Singhal said that over 1.5 lakh kanwariyas had offered jal to Lord Shiva till Tuesday afternoon. He said that kanwariyas would continue arriving here for the entire night. “We were expecting an influx of five lakh kanwariyas in the temple this year,” said Singhal who said that women kanwariyas also have brought kanwar in large numbers along with their family members.
Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around both temples and officials were camping there to monitor the arrangements. They were keeping a close watch in entire area through CCTV cameras and drones and elaborate barricading has been done to prevent entry of unauthorized persons in and around the temples.
Roads and highways that were blocked for normal traffic in view of the Kanwar Yatra will be opened from Tuesday midnight.
