Kanpur: The roads leading to major city temples witnessed long queues of devotees since early morning hours to offer prayers to Goddess Durga on the first day of Chaitra Navratri on Thursday. Devotees in a large number thronged the temples including Bara Devi and Tapeshwari Devi with to seek blessings of Maa Shailputri, a form of the goddess worshipped on the first day of the nine-day fest. Devotees also performed religious rituals at their homes by placing kalash and havan.At Bara Devi Temple, the rush as evident from as early as 4:30am. The temple management ensured smooth darshan by arranging separate queues for men and women and regulating the entry in batches. Similar arrangements were made at Tapeshwari Devi Temple, where devotees strtaed arriving around 5am. Mayor Pramila Pandey also visited the temple and offered prayers. She said that she has been visiting the temple during Navratri for the past 52 years, highlighting the deep faith in the shrine.The Tapeshwari Devi Temple is believed to have historical and religious significance, with locals associating it with Goddess Sita, wife of Lord Ram. It is said that the mundan and karnachedan rituals of Luv and Kush were performed here, and many devotees continue to conduct these ceremonies for their children at the temple.Similar scenes were seen at at Kali Mata, Kali Bari, Rani Sati, Buddha Devi, Jangali Devi, Vaishno Devi and Asha Devi temples. Devotees started reaching the temples since 4am on Thursday.To manage the large crowds, traffic diversions were implemented around Bara Devi Temple, with vehicular movement restricted at Bara Devi crossing from Gaushala crossing. Police deployed elaborate security arrangements, including surveillance through high-tech cameras and drones, to ensure smooth crowd management and prevent any untoward incidents.
