Himachal: Shravan Ashtami fair to be held from Aug 5-14 at Bilaspur's Naina Devi temple

Bilaspur (HP), Jul 11(PTI) The Shravan Ashtami fair will be held from August 5 to 14 at Mata Shri Naina Devi temple, a famous Shaktipeeth of North India, Deputy Commissioner Bilaspur, Abid Hussain Sadiq, said here on Thursday.

Sadiq said that during the fair, the temple will remain open round the clock for devotees, except for one hour at night for cleaning and some time in the afternoon for decoration and offerings.

High-tech drones will be used for monitoring to prevent any untoward incidents, the deputy commissioner said during the meeting.

He said the additional deputy commissioner, Bilaspur, has been appointed as the fair officer, sub divisional magistrate as assistant fair officer, assistant superintendent of police as police fair officer and deputy superintendent of police as assistant police fair officer.

To organise a langar during the fair, Sadiq said that one must apply at shrinainadevi.com.

He said that the fair area will be divided into 18 sectors to maintain law and order. A police commando squad will also be formed to handle emergencies, and all sectors will be monitored from a control room.

For the first time, groups of 150 to 200 devotees will be sent for 'darshan' of the deity from the arrival hall to help control the crowd, he added. The deputy commissioner instructed officials to ensure that the toilets are regularly cleaned and proper drinking water facilities are available for the devotees during the fair. The Public Works Department officials were also directed to repair the roads before the fair begins. PTI COR BPL BHJ BHJ