Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday directed the officials during a high-level meeting at the Secretariat that proper arrangements should be ensured keeping in mind the number of devotees in the state’s major religious places like Mansa Devi in Haridwar, Chandi Devi Temple, Purnagiri Dham in Tanakpur, Kainchi Dham in Nainital, Jageshwar Temple in Almora, Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Pauri and other famous temples. The Chief Minister said that crowd management, devotee registration, widening of footpaths and stairs, removal of encroachment and availability of all other basic facilities should be ensured in these temples, so that the devotees get a smooth and safe darshan experience. The Chief Minister directed that a committee be constituted under the chairmanship of the commissioners of both the divisions. The District Magistrates of the respective districts, Senior Superintendents of Police, Vice Presidents of Development Authorities, and representatives of implementing agencies should be included as members in this committee. The Chief Minister, while emphasizing on the planned development of the Mansa Devi temple complex and other major temple complexes, increasing the carrying capacity and systematic shop management, directed that the arrangements for darshan for the devotees should be strengthened, organized and made easy.
Registration of devotees should be made mandatory and a phased arrangement should be ensured by controlling the number of devotees visiting, so that the crowd remains under control and the devotees do not face any inconvenience.
Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu, R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary Shailesh Bagoli, S.N. Pandey, Secretary and Commissioner Garhwal Vinay Shankar Pandey, Additional Director General of Police A.P. Anshuman, Special Secretary Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate and Additional Secretary Banshidhar Tiwari were present in the meeting.
