Bhubaneswar: With lakhs of devotees expected to gather at the Lingaraj Temple on Sunday for Maha Shivaratri, the temple administration has drawn up a detailed crowd management plan to ensure smooth movement within the 11th century shrine.Under the new arrangement, devotees will be allowed to enter the shrine only through the Lions’ Gate, the temple’s main entrance. After offering prayers in the sanctum sanctorum, they must exit through the Dakshina Dwara (south gate), creating a one-way movement on the premises.The revised arrangement comes in the wake of last year’s mishap when several devotees were injured amid heavy overcrowding near the south gate. Both pass holders and non-pass holders were allowed to use the same gate for entry and exit, leading to chaos. To prevent a repeat, authorities barred entry through any gate other than the Lions’ Gate.Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh said the number of passes for special entry into the sanctum sanctorum for the festival is capped at 1,500 this year, covering devotees, VIPs, servitors and other stakeholders. “All passes are QR-coded and can be scanned only once. The QR code will ensure that a pass cannot be reused or duplicated,” he said.He added that only the required number of servitors will be permitted to climb atop the shrine to place the ‘Mahadeepa’, the ritual that marks the culmination of the Maha Shivaratri celebrations.Earlier this week, preparations for Maha Shivaratri at the Lingaraj Temple were reviewed by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who urged servitors to strictly adhere to the schedule fixed for the lifting of the Mahadeepa.This year, the ritual of placing the Mahadeepa atop the shrine is scheduled for 10 pm. A special monitoring team has been set up by the government to ensure the proper implementation of all the rituals. Devotees were also urged to avoid carrying flowers and ‘prasad’ in single-use plastic bags.To regulate the huge footfall, the commissionerate police, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the temple administration made elaborate arrangements. Vehicular movement towards the temple will be regulated at key points, and 11 parking spaces have been earmarked around the shrine’s periphery. Forty-three platoons of police personnel will be deployed to ensure smooth traffic flow and orderly darshan, while the BMC will oversee drinking water supply and sanitation measures.Maha Shivaratri is one of the Lingaraj temple’s biggest annual festivals, which draws pilgrims from across Odisha and neighbouring states.
