Preparations for the Maha Shivaratri festival at Pashupatinath Temple are complete, with organizers ensuring a smooth and easy experience for visitors. The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) shared the details in a press conference on Monday.
To manage the large crowd, 10 subcommittees have been formed. Rajkumar Khatri, who leads the publicity and decoration team, said that the system has been planned so that 10 people can have darshan every two seconds. “We want to make the process fast and easy. More people are expected this year compared to last year,” he said.
There will be four entrance lines for visitors. The western and northern gates will have three lines each, while the eastern and southern gates will have two lines each. Khatri also reminded people that Pashupatinath is a plastic-free area and asked everyone to follow this rule.
The temple gates will stay open from 2:30 am on February 26 to 6 am on February 29. Organizers expect over 500,000 people to have direct darshan, with many more visiting the temple surroundings.
A main committee, led by Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, is in charge of the event. Other teams have been assigned to handle cleanliness, drinking water, toilets, and shoe storage.
Security, nighttime arrangements, accommodations, food, and firewood for sacred fires have also been planned. PADT said that the temple’s main gate and important areas will be decorated with flowers before the festival. Special arrangements have been made for Naga Babas inside the temple area.
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from India and other countries are expected to visit. The Pashupatinath area has been decorated with colorful lights, flowers, and other decorations to celebrate the occasion.
