28 Bhadra, Kathmandu.
On the occasion of Haritalika Teej festival, the Pashupatinath Temple will open all four of its gates from 3 AM on Monday.
The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) informed in a press conference on Sunday that arrangements have been made for fasting women, pilgrims, and devotees to have easy, organized, and safe darshan (worship) on the day of Teej.
According to the Trust, this year’s Haritalika Teej falls on Monday, Bhadra 29. Arrangements have been made for darshan through transparent nets placed at the three gates on the north, east, and south sides from the time the temple opens on Teej. Like last year, there will be no special puja or special darshan arrangements this year.
The Trust has designated separate darshan routes for devotees coming from different areas to manage the crowd. Devotees coming from Mitrapark and Umakunda will be led through Umakunda, Dakshinamurti, Kailash, the Badrinarasingh building, and then through the northern gate of Basukinath to the northern ramp of Pashupatinath Temple for darshan.
Similarly, devotees coming from Gaushala-Jayabageshwori will be directed through Jayabageshwori, Dathutol, Pacha Ganesh, Annapurna Bhandar, then across the temporary sky bridge in front of Mahasnan Ghar, through Bhuvaneshwori, Nasalchok and the sky bridge in front of Shankacharya Math, and finally through the small gate of the Police Guard Battalion to the western ramp of Pashupatinath.
For devotees coming from Sinamangal and the airport side, arrangements have been made for darshan via the gate next to the Tilganga Tourism Counter, Ram Mandir, Bagmati riverbank, across the Aryaghat bridge, through Brahmnal, and onto the ramp placed at the east gate.
Devotees coming from Pingalasthan will be led from the Pingalasthan gate through Char Shivalaya, Panchadeval, Vriddhashram, then across the temporary sky bridge in front of the large southern gate to the small gate. After this, they will proceed through Chausatthi Kotilingeshwar to have darshan of the temple’s southern face and then be redirected from the west side of the Unmatta Bhairav Temple, past the main Bhatt residence.
According to the Trust, there will be five lines outside the temple, which will be divided into eight lines upon entering the temple premises. There will be three lines on the north side, two on the east, one on the south, and two on the west. The Trust has arranged for quick darshan, allowing eight devotees to worship at a time.
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Security arrangements tightened
To make the Teej festival orderly, the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Police will establish their respective command posts and manage security arrangements.
The main camp of the Nepal Police will be set up in front of the Bhandari Guthi House in Bhakuntol. Security arrangements will be strengthened by establishing pickets and cordons in necessary areas of the Pashupati region, including Gorakhnath, Vishwaroopa area, Kirateshwar, Guhyeshwori, Gauri Ghat, Umakunda, Kailash, Mitrapark, Jayabageshwori, Gaushala, Pingalasthan, Tilganga, Suryaghat, Aryaghat, Bhasmeswar Ghat, Kiriyaputri area, and Ram Mandir.
To prevent pickpocketing and other irregular activities, plainclothes police will be deployed two days before the festival begins. The Trust stated that surveillance on suspicious individuals will be increased, and they will be taken into custody as needed.
As the Pashupati area is a meat and alcohol-prohibited zone, it has also been decided to request the Kathmandu District Administration Office to issue a public notice to completely ban the sale, distribution, and consumption of meat, alcohol, and other intoxicants.
As Teej is a special festival for women, as in the past, men will generally not be allowed to enter certain core areas. The Trust stated that security patrols and monitoring will be increased throughout the festival period to prevent violence against women.
The Trust has clarified that no passes of any kind have been arranged for temple darshan. Regular male pilgrims must enter through the gates of all darshan routes by 5:30 AM.
Arrangements have been made for local residents to go from their residences to offices or workplaces and return home in the evening based on the local passes issued by Kathmandu Metropolitan City-8.
Similarly, volunteering organizations must only perform their services in the designated work areas and must work in coordination and under the direction of the Nepal Police. The Trust also stated that police will be deployed to secure the shoe-slipper storage facility, which will operate from the previous day on the south side of Ram Mandir across the Bagmati River.
For More: Pashupatinath Temple Teej security
