Mock drill at Gorakhnath temple; security beefed up ahead of Khichdi
GORAKHPUR :A police team carried out a mock drill at Gorakhnath temple, ahead of month-long Khichdi fair, beginning from January 15 and likely to be attended by over three lakh devotees from east UP.
The team led by CO Praveen Singh carried out an anti-terror drill on the temple campus and where ‘three terrorists’ were arrested, who had taken shelter in the temple’s rest house. Security forces have been put on alert over a possible terror attack at religious sites flooded with devotees during Kumbh and other religious congregations.
Security at the temple too, a prominent centre of faith and devotion, of which CM Yogi Adityanath is the chief priest, has also been beefed up to counter any adverse situation, the CO said. The security arrangement has been divided into four zones and 11 sectors, while the force deployed during the khichdi fair will includes four SPs, nine circle officers, 25SHOs, 210 sub-inspectors, 14 women sub-inspectors, 610 constables and five companies of PAC, the CO said.
On January 15, CM Adityanath will perform a special predawn puja to mark Khichdi which is celebrated as Makarsakranti (Hindu harvest festival), a day earlier on January 14 in the country.
Amid chants of Jai Baba Gorakhnath, lakhs of devotees offer Khichdi to Baba Gorakhnath, who is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva.