Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 11 (ANI): Devotees across several parts of India gathered at prominent Shiva temples on Tuesday to mark Sawan Shivratri, offering prayers and performing Jalabhishek as religious activities were held at temples in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Delhi and Haryana.
In Varanasi, devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga before offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Sawan Shivratri.
In Uttar Pradesh, a large gathering of Kanwariyas was also witnessed at the Baba Augarnath Temple in Meerut, where lakhs of devotees performed Jalabhishek on the occasion.
Amid a massive gathering of devotees at Baba Augarnath Temple on Sawan Shivratri, ADG Bhanu Bhashkar said that extensive security arrangements have been made to manage the crowd.
“Police personnel and officers have been deployed across the area since 2 AM. There is a massive crowd of devotees given the occasion of Mahashivratri; this is expected to continue until 12 PM. A network of approximately 300 cameras is in place to monitor the situation and facilitate operations; our personnel are continuously reviewing the feed from these cameras,” Bhashkar said.
“Extensive security arrangements have been made, with volunteers and various organisations assisting to ensure that no one faces any inconvenience. Everything is proceeding peacefully so far,” he added.
He said that social media monitoring is being carried out at multiple levels, including district, headquarters, range and zonal levels.
“The estimate suggests that approximately 4 crore devotees will arrive,” Bhashkar said.
In Prayagraj, devotees offered prayers at the Dashashwamedh Temple, while in Bulandshahr, devotees gathered at the Barasau Shiv Temple to offer prayers and perform Jalabhishek.
In Haridwar, Uttarakhand, devotees performed Jalabhishek at the Daksheshwar Mahadev Temple. Whereas, large numbers of devotees arrived in the city for the occasion.
Speaking to ANI, CO City, Haridwar, Shishupal Singh Negi, said that hundreds of thousands of devotees had arrived in Haridwar and adequate security arrangements had been made by the police.
“People have been standing in line since early morning,” Negi said, adding that sufficient police personnel had been deployed to manage the crowds.
In Jharkhand’s Deoghar, devotees thronged the Baba Baidyanath Temple to offer prayers on Sawan Shivratri.
Meanwhile, in the national capital, Delhi, devotees offered prayers at the Gauri Shankar Temple on the occasion.
In Ambala, Haryana, devotees offered water to the Shivling on Shravan Shivratri.
The occasion saw devotees gathering at temples and participating in religious rituals across the different locations. Jalabhishek, offering water to the Shivling, was among the key rituals performed by devotees at several temples.
At the various shrines, devotees waited in queues to offer prayers and perform rituals. The occasion witnessed devotees turning up at temples in large numbers, with queues formed at several shrines as people waited for their turn to offer prayers and perform rituals.
The celebrations across the different locations marked the occasion of Sawan Shivratri, with devotees visiting temples to offer prayers and participate in religious rituals. (ANI)
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