To prevent Janmashtami-like stampede, court orders temple to increase ‘darshan’ timings
AGRA: For more effective crowd management, the court of civil judge (junior division) in Mathura has extended the timing for ‘darshan’ (opportunity to pray to the idol of the deity) at Sri Bankey Behari Temple in Vrindavan. The overall time to keep the sanctum sanctorum of the temple open has now been raised from 8 hours and 15 minutes to 11 hours per day in view of the heavy pilgrim footfall.
Earlier, on November 10, the district magistrate and the SSP of Mathura had jointly forwarded a letter to the district judge mentioning the tragic Janmashtami incident on August 20 when two devotees died of suffocation due to heavy rush in the temple. The letter was relayed to the court of civil judge (senior division) Mathura on November 11. Following the incident, the probe panel set up by the additional chief secretary (home) had suggested a few measures to prevent heavy rush in the temple. The recommendations included increasing the darshan timings.
According to the court order, issued on Monday, the new darshan timings for the summer season would be from 7 am to 12.30 pm and then from 5 pm to 10.30 pm. As for the winter season, the darshan timings have been fixed from 7.30 am to 1 pm and then from 4 pm to 9.30 pm. Besides, the court has asked the temple to raise the darshan timings further during the holy month of ‘shravan’ when devotee footfall increases significantly.
The rituals of ‘bhog’, ‘prasad’, and ‘aarti’ are also to be changed according to the revised timings. In addition, the court also advised the temple to make arrangements for a digital telecast of special prayers offered at the temple on quality screens. The temple administration was also asked to submit a detailed and concrete entry and exit plan with a map to avoid crowding on temple premises. The temple management was also asked to apprise the court about the impact of such measures once every fortnight for further action.
Speaking on the order, Mahesh Pathak, the national president of Akhil Bharat Teerth Purohit Mahasabha (ABTPM), says there is no harm in extending the timing for ‘darshan’ to prevent any stampede-like situation. “However, this enhanced timing will not help much as more elaborate arrangements are needed to make darshan hassle-free,” said Pathak.