NEW DELHI: A QR code asking devotees to donate digitally hangs outside the entrance. A few steps ahead, metal barricades divide visitors into separate queues, VIP entry, special access and general darshan. While hundreds wait outside for hours in the heat, a small group quietly walks in through another gate under security supervision. For many devotees across Delhi, this has increasingly become part of the temple experience.
Across several major temple complexes, including Jhandewalan temple, Kalka Mandir, Hanuman Mandir and Chhatarpur temple, systems of VIP entry, paid rituals, special-access aartis and donation-linked privileges are becoming more prominent, particularly during festivals or peak hours.
At Jhandewalan Temple during Navratri, devotees alleged that three separate gates operate simultaneously, one reportedly reserved for ministers, political guests and temple board members and another for sevadaar families and temple associates, while the general public waits in queues.
“You stand in line for three hours every Navratri but another gate gives direct access to a section of people. It feels like devotion has categories,” said Neeraj Bhatia, a regular visitor at Jhandewalan Temple.
Similar complaints were raised outside Kalkaji Mandir. “Sometimes barricades are stopped completely because some VIP convoy is entering.
The crowd keeps waiting while security clears the area,” alleged Geeta Saini, who visited the temple during Navratri this year. Inside temple premises, commercial systems including large digital donation boards, QR-code payment systems, paid seva counters and fixed-price ritual bookings have become common.
At Jhandewalan temple, devotees claimed that outside prashad is not allowed inside the premises, forcing visitors to purchase offerings from authorised counters operating within the complex. According to temple boards, several ritual bookings are openly listed with fixed rates.
Devotees alleged that some bhog and seva bookings reportedly go up to Rs 25,000, while a “Main Bhawan Shringaar Booking” is priced around Rs 50,000, excluding additional materials devotees are expected to arrange separately.
“Earlier, donations were about faith. Now every ritual has a package, a counter or a rate,” said Kavita Arora, a devotee.
At Chhatarpur temple, devotees pointed towards premium parking systems, paid puja arrangements and heavy crowd segregation during peak festival periods. Around Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place, several visitors highlighted the increasing commercial activity surrounding the temple complex during Tuesdays and religious occasions.
Another issue raised by devotees is the continued restriction on access to certain inner sections of temples even years after the pandemic.
“God should feel equally accessible to everyone,” said Pradeep Suri while waiting outside Chhatarpur temple. “Donations are understandable, but when direct access starts depending on influence or money, people naturally begin questioning the system.”
Expanded administrative infrastructure, increasing security presence and rising
VIP movement have transformed many religious spaces into heavily managed institutional zones. Meanwhile, a recent controversy involving the alleged organisation of a private wedding ceremony inside temple premises intensified conversations around commercialisation.
As evening aarti preparations began on Tuesday, devotees continued lining up behind barricaded entry points while announcements for special-access rituals and paid sevas echoed repeatedly through temple loudspeakers.