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Kanchipuram District Collector: Additional arrangements for Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar!

Posted on: 15/Jul/2019 1:02:21 PM
The District Collector of Kanchipuram, P. Ponnaiah has informed that further arrangements have been made to facilitate the public for the Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar.

The Kanchipuram District Collector had a detailed session with the press and shared :
Lakhs of devotees have had a Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar in the last 14 days! It is expected the rush of devotees will swell further! There have been no ungainly incidents or mishaps so far and the festival celebrations are in progress without any major hitch.  Detailed review and consultative meetings are being conducted every night by the Department of Police, the Department of Religious Endowment, and the District Administration Authorities regarding the hardships encountered by the devotees and also their need for further facilities in order that the visiting devotees will have Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar without any difficulties/hardship.

After the nights meeting, the arrangements for the subsequent day are carried out. On Saturday alone (13th July), 2.5 Lakhs devotees had Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar. Out of this, 70000 individuals were senior citizens.

So, separate queues are formed for the senior citizens, differently-abled persons, and the mothers of infants.

As the crowds of devotees swelled on Saturday, devotees were allowed together in all the 3 categories to proceed for the Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar. However, the arrangement will resume again for separate queues as mentioned above for the 3 categories.

Apart from this, review is being carried out whether to facilitate online Darshan booking for the senior citizens and the differently-abled.

Some modified arrangements will be made only on the days when the devotee crowd level is more in order to manage the excess crowd of devotees. On other days, the devotees were allowed for Darshan as per the usual timings from early morning 5.00 AM to 10.00 PM. When certain important arrangements are to be carried out, this Darshan timing is reduced by an hour and devotees are allowed to have Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar only until 9.00 PM. Otherwise, there are no changes in Darshan timings.

It is impossible to have Darshan arrangements throughout the night session. The main reason for this is that as the devotees start waiting in the queue for the early morning period, a lot of waste and garbage materials are dumped on the roads and streets.  The corporation staff needs to remove this extra garbage as well!

Several other aspects are also being arranged including filling up the water tanks. This can be done only during the time of interval for Darshan. Further, the Bhattacharyas in charge of the Sanctum Sanctorum decoration of the deity, performing poojas, etc., need to finish their duduty on time and also, they have to return the next day morning as well!

Hence, the devotees visiting for Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar should come with the mindset that they need to wait at least for 3 to 4 hours before Darshan! They also need to leave their footwear properly in the temporary bus stations are vehicles parking stations.  Some suggestions are being implemented regarding the keeping of footwear which will be implemented shortly.

10 mini-buses are being arranged to bring the devotees from railway Station and bus termini o the Kanchi Varadhar Temple. 8 emergency 2-wheelers and 10 ambulances have also been arranged. 2 medical camps will also be set up.

Presently, 10 public toilets have been set up in the area adjacent to the Pandal set up in the entrance to the temple. Additional 35 toilets will be set up in other nearby places.

More volunteers are to be deployed for distribution of water to the devotees waiting in the queues. A review has been made to set up another Pandhal of 250*50 area to facilitate the devotees to relax.

The pandhal setting up is in progress out in such a way as not to disturb the devotees at the South Mada Street of the temple not be exposed to sun and rain. This is expected to be completed by Tuesday (16th July). An additional queue line is introduced for the VIPs as well! However, strict instructions have been given not allow anyone without the proper admission chit.

An amount of Rs. 29 Crores has already been sent for the activities of various arrangements. However, additional funds have not been sought so far. Some activities have been undertaken with the help of the large-hearted contributors. So, the devotees can be expected to have Darshan of Lord Athi Varadhar without any hardships in the coming days!