Ujjain: Devotees from across the country throng Mahakal Temple on Maha Shivaratri

Ujjain: Thousands of devotees from across the country paid obeisance to Mahakaleshwar on Thursday on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.

On the occasion wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati the Shivlingam at the temple was decorated in the form of groom on Thursday. Lord Shiva will observe the same appearance till Friday afternoon.

On Friday ‘bhasmarti’ will be performed on afternoon as per tradition and thereafter ‘sehara’ will be distributed among devotees marking the formal conclusion of Maha Shivaratri celebrations.

Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee and local administration said that it took only 45 to 50 minutes for devotees to have glimpse of their patron Lord Mahakal on the occasion of the festival of Maha Shivaratri though there were long queues of devotees outside the temple.

The MTMC and district administration distributed a water bottle and mask to every devotee who visited the temple for darshan.

On Maha Shivaratri on Thrusday at noon 12 the local administration performed special worship of Lord Mahakal with ritual. During the worship divisional commissioner Sandeep Yadav, collector Asheesh Singh, ADG Yoghesh Deshmukh, SP Satyendra Kumar Shukla and ADM Narendra Suryavanshi were present.

Monitoring from control room

Senior officials kept eyes on the proceeding from control room be it crowd management or providing help to devotees. The officials continuously scanned video footage of the Chardham Temple Area, Harsiddhi Square, Bada Ganesh, Mahakal police station, Bharat Mata Mandir and other sensitive areas.

Relief measures

To welcome devotees during onset of summer the floor of the temple was covered with matting along with the approaching route to the sanctum, although entry in sanctum was banned in compliance with Covid directives.

VIP darshan for Rs 250

In-charge officer and UDA CEO SS Rawat said that 20 counters were set up for VIP entry near Triven Museum and at the parking venue. The fee for VIP entry was Rs 250. Similarly counters for selling Prasad (sweets) were also setup.