Bilaspur/Una (HP), Jul 12 (PTI) Shravan Ashtami fairs will be organised from July 25 at Himachal Pradesh’s famous Shakti Peethas of Shri Naina Devi ji and Maa Chintpurni in Bilaspur and Una districts, respectively.
Given the fairs are just two weeks away, the trusts of both temples held meetings to discuss the preparations for the events.
Bilaspur Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar on Friday said that guidelines have been issued to all departments to ensure that devotees at Shri Naina Devi ji do not face any inconvenience.
The fair at the temple will last till August 5.
For smooth traffic flow, he said, some changes will be made, and the bus stand may be temporarily relocated to another location, allowing the HRTC shuttle service to start from there.
To ensure security and better crowd management, a high-tech security system, including crowd analytics cameras, will be in place to issue alerts as soon as the crowd increases.
A 24/7 health facility will be set up in six permanent and six temporary health centres, and a road plan for the movement of an ambulance will also be implemented, he added.
Kumar said that in the waiting area, 1,500 devotees can rest at a time, and devotees will be sent in batches of 150 for darshan.
This time, only online applications will be accepted for operating the langar, and permission will be given only to those who fulfil the standard operation procedures (SOPs), the DC informed.
Additionally, plastic will be banned, and only the use of biodegradable products will be promoted.
Moreover, all basic arrangements, such as drinking water, electricity supply, street lighting, transportation and food safety, are being strengthened, the Bilaspur DC said.
Instructions have been given to the concerned department for random checking of food quality, too.
Similarly, the Mata Shri Chintpurni Temple Trust also held a meeting to discuss preparations for the fair, which is scheduled to take place from July 25 to August 3.
Amb Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sachin Sharma said that for the fair, ADC Una has been appointed as its officer, ASP Una as the police fair officer and DSP Amb as the assistant police fair officer. Sharma himself will be the assistant fair officer.
The Amb SDM said that during the nine-day fair, the temple will remain open for devotees 24 hours a day except for only one hour during the night for cleaning and sometime in the afternoon for decoration.
Sharma further said that it will be mandatory to take permission to organise langar during the fair and added that the organisers will have to ensure cleanliness and provide hygienic food, which will be regularly inspected by the food supply department.
He also said that there will be a ban on playing drums, tongs, loudspeakers and the use of plastic and thermocol during the fair.
The fair area will be divided into ten sectors to maintain law and order during the fair. For security, teams of the quick task force, including police and home guard personnel, will be deployed in sufficient numbers.
Sharma said that temporary toilets will be set up at various places, and recovery vans will be deployed to deal with traffic problems.
Begging in the area will be banned, and regular inspection will be done by the teams of District Child Protection Officers.
Allopathic and Ayurvedic camps will be set up at various places to provide medical facilities to the devotees at the fair. Firefighting vehicles will be stationed to deal with any disaster or fire incident.
Along with this, proper drinking water facility will be provided to the devotees during the fair period. He also directed the Public Works Department officials to repair the road arrangements before the start of the fair. PTI COR BPL ANM AMJ AMJ
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