The temple that dates back to 1760 has witnessed attempts in the Mughal period to destroy it. However, it somehow survived and Rani Ahilya Bai of Indore got it renovated.
The religious city of Varanasi which is thronged by lakhs of devotees is perhaps among a few places that have so far not recorded a stampede or any such man-made disaster, except a few bloody attempts by terrorists to blow the Kashi Vishwanath Temple up. Located on the banks of the Ganga, the temple houses the Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva.
FOOTFALLS
On an average, one lakh devotees visit the temple—that has two gold-plated domes and efforts are on to cover the third dome with the yellow metal—every day throughout the year. “On an average we get more than Rs 1 lakh of donation every day,” said P N Diwedi, deputy CEO of the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Trust.
CROWD MANAGEMENT
A total of 120 devotees exit immediately after the darshan every minute and the trust volunteers who man the temple don’t allow the devotees to crowd even for a second. According to the temple management, pilgrims have to form a serpentine queue through narrow lanes to reach the temple and this is the
biggest advantage which does not allow overcrowding in and around the temple. The temple trust has of late started showing live the aarti on the TV channels for those who are not able to attend the rituals physically. “We are going to soon start the live aarti show on mobiles also,” says Diwedi.
SECURITY MEASURES
Since the temple is on the hit-list of terrorists, the Uttar Pradesh government and the temple trust have made the tightest security arrangements to foil any nefarious designs against the temple. More than 1,000 police jawans and paramilitary forces are deployed 24 hours who keep a strict vigil on the shrine. The district administration does regular reviews of the security arrangements. The devotees are frisked at least four times till they reach the sanctum sanctorum. They have to pass through the metal detectors and the CCTVs dotting the temple campus.