Particle.news

India Marks First Sawan Somwar with Fasts, Temple Rites and Heightened Crowd Management

District authorities enforced Monday school closures, with police deploying drones alongside rapid-response teams to manage thousands of devotees at Shiva shrines.

Overview

  • Devotees observed dawn-to-dusk fasts and performed prescribed abhishekam and aarti during Brahma, Abhijit and Vijay muhurats, chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ 108 times.
  • Pilgrimages peaked at key Shiva sites, with the Bhasma Aarti at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar and Jalabhishek rituals at Kashi Vishwanath drawing massive crowds.
  • Kanwar Yatra pilgrims collected Ganga water at dawn and carried it for Jalabhishek ceremonies, reinforcing the month’s traditional spiritual journey.
  • District magistrates in Varanasi, Budaun and Nuh ordered Monday school closures to ease pilgrimage traffic and ensure public safety.
  • Local police in Varanasi, Ujjain and Mumbai deployed drones, Quick Response Teams and mounted units to streamline darshan queues and enforce crowd controls.