Excelsior Correspondent
KATRA, Oct 7: The nine-day long Navratri festival at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine began today with the commencement of Navratras Shat Chandi Maha Yagya and chanting of Vedic hymns along with other rituals organised by the Shrine Board amid tight security and strict Covid guidelines.
The Maha Yagya is also being telecast on Shraddha MH One channel from 12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. daily during Navratras. The Maha Yagya, which is performed at the holy cave shrine during Navratras for peace and prosperity, will conclude with Purna Ahuti on Mahanavami.
K K Sharma, Member Shrine Board; Ramesh Kumar, CEO of the Board; Abhishek Sharma, SDM Bhawan; other senior officers of Board and a large number of pilgrims were present on the occasion.
Like in the past, Board has made elaborate arrangements to facilitate a much larger number of pilgrims who are likely to visit Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine during Navratras. These arrangements include round the clock water and power supply, sanitation and cleanliness, medicare and availability of special “fast related” food at the catering outlets of the Shrine Board. Like in the past, the ‘Bhawan’ of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji, ‘Atka’ and the area surrounding it have been profusely decorated with flowers. Also, as was done in the last year’s Shardiya Navratras, this year’s other special features of arrangements included Bhajan and Bhaint performances during morning and evening Atka Aarti by the renowned artists.
The CEO interacted with the pilgrims and enquired about the arrangements made by the board to facilitate them. He expressed satisfaction at the arrangements put in place for the pilgrims at Bhawan and Katra. He also informed that the play ‘Mata ki Kahani’ would be presented by Natrang Theatre Group in the Auditorium of Spiritual Growth Centre at Katra with a limited audience. The show will also be telecast at different locations through LED screens to avoid large gatherings at a single place and to ensure that a greater number of people can witness the performance in their own personal space. He underscored that all the activities have been planned to keep in view the pandemic. Many events have been redesigned to minimize public gatherings.
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