Lucknow. More than 40 lakh devotees visited hundreds of ancient Durga temples and Shakti Peethas from Vindhyachal Dham in Mirzapur to Shakambhari Devi Dham, mother of Saharanpur in four days of Sharadiya Navratri in Uttar Pradesh. This information was given in an official statement. According to the statement, this increase in the number of devotees is due to the conservation of ancient heritage in the last eight years and efforts to arrange modern facilities for pilgrimage sites.
This number is estimated to be more than one crore during the last three days of Navratri- Saptami, Ashtami and Navami. Since the beginning of this festival, 12 lakh devotees have come to Maa Vindhyavasini Dham in Mirzapur. There are 3.5 to four lakh devotees visiting daily, which is much higher than normal days. The construction of the Vindhyachal Corridor has increased the facilities for pilgrims. The officers are expected to come here every day during the last three days of Navratri.
One of the 51 Shaktipeeths in Varanasi, during the Navratri at the mother Vishalakshi Devi temple, the number of visitors increases from five-seven thousand to eight -10 thousand per day. 20-30 thousand darshans are expected daily in the last three days. A large number of devotees visit this temple from South India. The government has proposed the Vishalakshi Corridor to make philosophy more easy. Other temples in Varanasi such as Gayatri Shakti Peeth, Chaura Devi Temple and Maa Kushmanda Temple at Durgakund are also seen, where a large number of devotees are expected to come on Navami.
Shakambhari Devi Shaktipeeth in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh is coming to 50,000 devotees per day, while 40,000 devotees are arriving at the Tripur Bala Sundari Temple daily. In the last three days in both the temples, up to one lakh devotees are expected to come daily. Similarly, 50,000 devotees are coming to the Maa Pateshwari Devi temple in Balrampur daily, which is expected to increase to one to 1.5 lakhs per day during Saptami, Ashtami and Navami.
More than 1.25 lakh devotees are coming to the mother Alop Shankari Shaktipeeth on the banks of the Ganges in Prayagraj and in the last three days this number is expected to increase to 2-2.5 lakhs per day. 70,000-80,000 devotees are coming daily in Maa Kalyani Devi Temple and Maa Lalita Devi Temple (Naimisharanya). The number of pilgrims has increased manifold due to the state government’s investment of crores of rupees on facilities like shelter site, drinking water, entrance, beautification and lighting for pilgrims.
In Gorakhpur, the renovated Tarkulaha Devi Temple in the Chauri-Chaura region has become a major pilgrimage site, where an average of 50,000 devotees come daily and more than one lakh devotees are expected to come on Navami. There is also an influx of devotees in Budhiya Mai Sthan and Lehra Devi temple of Maharajganj. Government investment for tourism development, including shelter sites and lighting, has improved it further.
Chowkia Mai Dham in Jaunpur (where 70,000 devotees come daily, this number is expected to reach one lakh in busy days), Chamunda Devi Temple in Agra (where thousands of devotees come daily and more than 30 lakh devotees are expected to come in various temples in the district), there is a huge crowd in the temples of Jhansi due to the safety and safety system.
There is also an increase in the number of devotees in small temples of Auraiya and Hapur districts. This Navratri has been celebrated by the Yogi government not only as a religious ritual, but also as a celebration of women safety and empowerment. Under the ‘Mission Shakti 5.0’, women policemen took out scooty rallies across the state and the students were symbolically placed in an administrative role for a day. In the temple complexes, strict security arrangements have been made, including the presence of women policemen to ensure a safe environment for all devotees.
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