NE NEWS SERVICE
JUNAGADH, MAR 1
Keeping the view of devotees’ health and the recent spurt in the COVID-19 pandemic, the famous ”Mahashivratri” fair in Junagadh district of Gujarat, which is scheduled to begin in the next week, will not be organised this year but certain traditional rituals will be performed in the presence of a limited number of sadhus which will be streamed live, officials said on Monday.
The five-day fair, which culminates on ”Mahashivratri” day, which falls on March 11 this year, is organised annually at the foot of the Girnar mountain near Junagadh city by the district administration and the Girnar Sadhu Mandal.
Every year, hundreds of sadhus assemble at the foot of the mountain dotted with several temples ahead of the fair which is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
This mega religious gathering near the city attracts around 10 to 12 lakh people from all over the country.
This year, the religious congregation was supposed to begin on March 7 and culminate on March 11.
To stem the spread of coronavirus, seers and the district officials have unanimously decided not to organise the fair this year.
“As decided in a meeting held today with the district collector, it was decided unanimously that the fair will not be organised because of the coronavirus spread. We all need to follow guidelines laid down by the government to stop the spread of the virus. I urge all the devotees not to visit Junagadh as there will not be any fair this time,” said Indrabharti Maharaj of Girnar Sadhu Mandal.
“To maintain the customs and traditions, we will perform various rituals in the presence of a limited number of sadhus. People can watch these rituals live in their homes. I urge devotees to cooperate. Even we will maintain the social distance while performing these rituals,” said Maharaj.
Junagadh district collector Saurabh Pardhi also said that the rituals will be performed only by a select number of seers.
“Lakhs of people throng every year to witness the Junagadh fair. We cannot put their health in danger. Thus, it has been decided unanimously that only important rituals will be performed in the presence of sadhus as per the government’s guidelines,” Pardhi said after attending the meeting.
