Heavy rush at Ujjain's Kalbhairav temple, even Rs 500 VIP ticket holders wait hours in queue

The rush of devotees coming to Ujjain for darshan of Baba Mahakal is now straining arrangements at the Kalbhairav temple as well. On Friday the temple saw such a crowd that devotees holding Rs 500 VIP tickets, along with ordinary worshippers, had to stand in queues for hours.

Some waited two and a half hours, others up to four. Children, the elderly and women stood in the harsh sun and were left distressed. Many devotees went back without darshan. Large numbers of devotees are arriving from Maharashtra and Gujarat to worship at Kalbhairav, and long queues stretched from outside the temple to the darshan route.

The strongest resentment was over the VIP darshan system. Devotees said that if one still had to stand for hours after buying a Rs 500 ticket, the VIP arrangement had no meaning. Even buying the ticket meant queuing for an hour and a half. Devotees also demanded that additional ticket counters be opened.

Jitendra Maurya, who came from Prayagraj, said he came for darshan with a VIP ticket but still had to wait about four hours. He alleged that in the name of protocol, some people are being given darshan after paying Rs 500 to Rs 1,000, while ordinary devotees stand in the queue. Manish, who came from Rajkot, said that just getting a VIP ticket takes between half an hour and an hour and a half. One can imagine, he said, how long the wait for darshan would be.

Adequate drinking water and shade were not in evidence for devotees standing in the long queues. People waited for hours in the heat and sun. Family members with small children were seen lifting them onto their shoulders to give them some relief. In some places people were inconvenienced by the pressure of the crowd. Vendors selling bottled water were seen along the queue. Devotees said drinking water should be provided on the darshan route so that they do not have to buy water at high prices.

Kailash Kalwa said he joined the queue at 9 am and got darshan about two and a half hours later. He said having four lines on the darshan route was causing considerable difficulty. Under the pressure of the crowd, the queues were also not being managed properly.

When administrative officials were approached about the temple's arrangements, they declined to respond. They said they had been given responsibility only for cleanliness and arrangements, and that they monitor these from time to time. Any answer on the matter would be given by the Collector, they said.