Three hundred thousand devotees offer prayers at Pashupatinath Temple
Many more devotees are still waiting in long queues to offer prayers, and PADT has assured that all those in line will be allowed to worship today.
KATHMANDU: On the auspicious occasion of Haritalika Teej, a major festival for Nepali women, approximately 300,000 devotees have visited and worshiped at the Pashupatinath Temple.
According to Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) spokesperson Rewati Raman Adhikari, by 4 p.m. today, nearly 300,000 devotees had entered the main temple for worship.
Many more devotees are still waiting in long queues to offer prayers, and PADT has assured that all those in line will be allowed to worship today.
The four gates of Pashupatinath Temple were opened from 3 a.m. this morning.
Devotees initially faced some difficulty due to rain, but as the rain subsided, a large number of people entered the temple premises and joined the queue.
PADT had organized four separate lines outside the temple for orderly worship during Teej.
Once inside the main temple, two to three separate queues were organized at one of the gates to manage the crowd.
On the occasion, First Lady Sabita Poudel is scheduled to visit Pashupatinath Temple for prayers and worship.
Additionally, Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Minister Badri Prasad Pandey, who is also the chairman of PADT’s executive council, is set to visit the temple to oversee the festival’s arrangements.
Approximately 600 female police officers were deployed inside the main temple for security.
Only female devotees were allowed entry today, and PADT Treasurer Narayan Prasad Subedi informed that no special puja tickets were issued to ensure that as many women as possible could worship at Pashupatinath on this significant day.
