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Shiva temples in Prayagraj reverberate with holy chants as Shrawan month begins
The Kanwariyas too started on their annual pilgrimage trek as part of which they visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi where they offer the Ganga water that they had collected from Sangam in Prayagraj.
Temples reverberated with the chants of ‘Bam Bam Bholey’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ as devotees welcomed the start of the Shrawan month by visiting various Shiva temples in Prayagraj on Thursday.
The pleasant weather also added to the charm as long queues were witnessed at all major Shiva temples of the city. The Kanwariyas too started on their annual pilgrimage trek as part of which they visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi where they offer the Ganga water that they had collected from Sangam in Prayagraj.
The maximum rush was witnessed at the Mankameshwar temple, located besides river Yamuna and at Padila Mahadeo temple of Phaphamau.
“Lord Shiva showers blessings on all those who worship him from their heart and the month of Shrawan, especially the first and last somvar (Mondays), are considered highly auspicious for paying obeisance to lord Shiva,” said priest ‘acharya’ Hemant Bhaduri of Varanasi.
“It is believed that the worship of Shiva is 108 times more impactful during Shrawan month than on other days,” he added.
District administration has made elaborate security arrangements in view of the month long Kanwar yatra. The police have implemented traffic diversion on Prayagraj-Varanasi highway, wherein north side lane of the highway has been reserved for kanwariyas.
Besides, 24 boats along with a team of 20 swimmers have also been deployed at prominent ghats of the city to ensure the safety of kanwariyas at the ghats.
A total of 28 resting points on the route to Varanasi and adequate civic facilities including medical, toilet, sanitation etc will be provided to devotees of lord Shiva during the trek.
There would be adequate ambulances on the route and teams of medical and paramedical staff have already been assigned duties, police said.
District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri and senior superintendent of police Shailesh Kumar Pandey inspected the routes of Kanwar Yatra on Thursday. They took stock of the arrangements. The DM has instructed that all the divers should be in a prescribed uniform, so that they can be identified.
