Kanpur: Elaborate arrangements have been made at the city’s prominent temples, including Anandeshwar Temple in Parmat, ahead of the first Monday of the holy month of Shrawan on August 3. The temple management committees, district administration and police have put in place measures for crowd management, security, smooth traffic movement and hassle-free darshan of the Shiva Lingam.According to temple sources, Anandeshwar Temple will open for devotees at 2 am on Monday, while more than three lakh devotees are expected to visit the shrine during the day. As in previous years, devotees are likely to start assembling near the temple gates from midnight.Temple authorities have issued photo identity cards to all sewadars and other employees deployed on duty. Mahant Hitesh Giri said photo IDs, duly signed by representatives of the Juna Akhara and the police, had been issued to sewadars, electricians and other employees. “No one will be allowed to perform duty inside the temple without a valid photo ID,” he said.The temple management has barricaded the route leading from the entry point to the main shrine. Separate queues have been arranged for men and women to facilitate the smooth movement of devotees.Giri said the main temple would be closed at 7 pm on Sunday after the ‘Sandhya aarti’. The ‘Mangala aarti’ would be performed around 2 am on Monday, following which the temple doors would be opened for devotees.The temple would again be closed at 12.30 pm for Bhog and Aarti and reopened at 2 pm. It would be closed at 7.30 pm for another round of Bhog and Aarti and reopened at 9 pm. The final Aarti would be performed at 11.30 pm, after which the temple doors would be be closed.Special wheelchair facilities have also been arranged for elderly devotees, persons with disabilities and elderly women, enabling them to perform puja and offer prayers without difficulty, Giri said.Satendra Bajpai, president of Anandeshwar Vyapar Sewa Samiti, said around 50 women volunteers had been deployed to manage the queue for female devotees and provide assistance wherever required.For security, several CCTV cameras have been installed inside the temple premises. A CCTV control room has been set up at the Parmat police outpost. Strict security arrangements will also remain in place at the entry and exit points, Bajpai said.Similar arrangements have been made at other prominent Shiv shrines, including Siddhanath Ghat, Jageshwar Temple and Vankhandeshwar Temple, to manage the expected rush of devotees on the first Monday of Shrawan.
