BHUBANESWAR: ‘Mahadeep’ will be lifted atop the Lingaraj temple at 10 pm on Wednesday, said Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan.
Presiding over the final preparatory meeting on Maha Shivaratri here on Tuesday, the Law minister said heads of all sevayat nijogs of Lingaraj temple have assured to complete all the rituals of the Shivaratri celebration on time.
“They had some demands and issues which we have assured to look into,” he said. The minister requested the nijogs to adhere to the fixed schedules for different ‘nitis’ as the ‘mahadeep’ of other Shiva temples will only be lifted after it is raised at the Lingaraj temple as per the tradition.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made as lakhs of devotees would be visiting the shrine to offer prayers on the occasion. “CCTVs have been installed at all the strategic locations both outside and inside the shrine to monitor the situation and keep a vigil on possible antisocial activities including chain-snatching and misbehaviour towards women devotees,” Harichandan said.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made arrangements for drinking water, first-aid, sheds and other facilities for devotees’ convenience. Rituals at the shrine will begin after 3 am.
Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra said 40 platoons of police force and over 100 officers of different ranks will be deployed at the shrine to prevent any kind of untoward incidents during the festival. All arrangements have been made for safety and security of devotees, he added.