Special tunnel being built to facilitate movement of devotees to Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple

Indore: A special tunnel is being constructed in the complex of Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, through which around 8 lakh devotees can easily visit the premises, an official said on Tuesday.

Mahakaleshwar Temple, one of the 12 jyotirlingas (major places of worship of Lord Shiva), receives heavy footfall of devotees every day.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will dedicate the second phase of ‘Shri Mahakal Mahalok’ corridor, built at the cost of Rs 242.35 crore, on October 5, just ahead of the year-end state assembly polls.

“At least two lakh devotees visit Mahakaleshwar Temple every day. However, it is not easy to control the crowd when the number rises to around 3 lakh a day during festivals," Ujjain district collector Kumar Purushottam told PTI.

To deal with such situations, a special tunnel is being built at Mahakaleshwar Temple for the convenience of devotees, he said.

The tunnel will enable around eight lakh devotees to visit the temple every day, the official said.

According to officials, the second phase of ‘Shri Mahakal Mahalok’ corridor included the development works of Neelkanth, Shaktipath, Anna, Maharajwada complex and Chhota Rudrasagar areas.

In the second phase, a special place is also being developed from where thousands of devotees can see the temple's spire, officials said.

Mahakaleshwar Temple Committee Administrator Sandeep Kumar Soni said that under the project, about 700 cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) have been installed in the temple complex.

The cameras are connected to a state-of-the-art control room from where crowds can be continuously monitored and managed, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the ambitious project of Shri Mahakal Mahalok corridor on October 11 last year.