Devotees thronged the Naina Devi temple on the occasion of Nandashtami during the 116th Nanda Devi Mahotsav underway in Nainital. Elaborate worship and rituals were held on on Friday. Early in the morning, the Pran Pratishtha in idols of goddesses Nanda and Sunanda was done by the priests. In addition to devotees from various parts of the state, a number of tourists also offered their prayers to the goddesses in the temple on the occasion. People could be seen standing in queue from morning till afternoon, awaiting their turn at the temple.
In the evening, Panch Arti was organised at the shrine while at night the Mahabhagwati Pujan was organised.
Meanwhile, the police maintained heavy presence to enforce high court directions banning animal slaughter in temples. People coming with goats got
them registered by animal husbandry department and then took them to the shrine for ritual in police presence after which they were sent back.
However, after it was learnt that some Shiv Sainiks were planning animal sacrifice at the shrine, the police reached the Sukhatal area and informed them about the court orders.
The Shiv Sena state general secretary BS Karki and others started raising slogans. More than a dozen were detained by the police.
At the police station, they continued raising slogans seeking permission for animal sacrifice at the shrine. They were later released after being warned.
