On the first Monday of the auspicious and holy month of Sawan, a large number of people thronged Baba Baidhyanath Dham temple offering holy Ganges water to lord Shiva lingas. As per Deoghar district administration around one lakh Kanwarias offered prayers on the first Monday of the Sawan month.
The devotees reached the temple from Baba Mandir from Nandan Pahar, which is around 6km from the temple. There was a 5 kilometers long queue of devotees from temple.
According to Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri, devotees started offering water to Shiva since 3.55 am after official worship. Due to the closure of Sparsh Puja, like every time, arrangements have been made to offer water from Arghya. At the same time, all kinds of arrangements have been made for the convenience and security of lakhs of devotees coming to the temple.
The Deputy Commissioner inspected the Baba Mandir premises and took stock of the law and order and security arrangements before the worship of the common people started. At the same time, the deputed magistrates, police officers and police force jawans talked about every possible cooperation of the devotees with service and decency. At the same time, the security system is being monitored by drones at various places.
More than 500 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the entire Mela area including Baba Mandir. Apart from the team of NDRF, Quick Response Team, Health Department, the team of all the departments deployed on fair duty have been kept on alert mode.
Shravani Mela, one of the largest religious congregations in the country’s eastern region, was inaugurated in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district last Monday. State Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh inaugurated the fair at Kanwariyapath in Dumma, bordering Bihar.
Usually, the mela is organised for a month during the month of ‘Shravan’, according to the Saka Calendar. This year, the fair will be organised for two consecutive months from July 3 to August 31. “After 19 years, this is for the first time when there will be eight Mondays during Shravani fair,†said Deoghar deputy commissioner (DC), Manjunath Bhajantri.
Devotees from various parts of the country and abroad visit Deoghar during the month of ‘Shravan’ and offer prayers at Baba Baidyanath Dham temple. ‘Kanwariyas’ start their 105-km journey on foot to Deoghar after taking a holy dip in the Ganga in Bihar’s Sultanganj. The journey ends with the pilgrims pouring the holy water on the ‘shivalingam’ at the Baba Baidyanath Dham temple.
Back in Ranchi thousands of devotees thronged the Pahari Mandir to offer prayers. The devotees carrying water from Swarnrekha river reached the temple in the morning. The Pahari Mandir management committee had made elaborate arrangements for devotees.
