Crowd surge at Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Varanasi: The Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple is witnessing unprecedented crowds as devotees flock to the holy site for the English New Year and the ongoing Maha Kumbh. All booking slots for darshan and rituals have been filled until January 27, leading the temple administration to halt ticket bookings from December 31 to January 4.

Vishwa Bhushan Mishra, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, stated that measures akin to those implemented during Sawan and Mahashivratri have been adopted to manage the surge. “Touch darshan has been completely stopped and will remain suspended until the crowd pressure normalizes,” Mishra said.

Barricading has been set up from the temple gates to the sanctum sanctorum and along the ghats to streamline the movement of devotees. Mishra added, “Zig-zag pathways have been arranged to accommodate the maximum number of visitors. Crowd management protocols are in place to ensure safety and uninterrupted darshan.”