Pashupati area ready to welcome devotees on Teej Day

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 25: Haritalika Teej, an exclusive festival of Hindu women, is being celebrated across the country on Tuesday. As preparations are underway for Teej, the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) is ready to welcome thousands of devotees at Pashupatinath Temple. 

In a press meet organised on Sunday, PADT informed that preparations have been completed to manage the crowd. Subash Chandra Joshi, Acting Member Secretary of PADT, speaking at the press meet held on the premises of PADT, said that PADT would provide good facilities and manage the crowd during the festival.

“The police personnel and PADT employees will be mobilised within the Pashupatinath Temple premises and its core areas to provide proper facilities,” he said.

He further added that the issue of beggars, who often disturb visitors, will be addressed. PADT will work in collaboration with Kathmandu Metropolitan City to make the Pashupati area beggar-free on the day of the festival.

However, PADT has not issued any passes for vehicles, volunteers, or press personnel to enter the temple.

He also requested visitors to wear decent attire while visiting Pashupatinath on that day.

Devotees will be grouped into four lines at the four gates while entering the temple premises. These lines will later be arranged into eight lines to allow people to enter the temple in an orderly manner, according to Narayan Prasad Subedi, Treasurer of PADT.

“The arrangements have been made so that eight people can worship Pashupatinath in two seconds,” he added.

PADT officials stated that they are ready to welcome tens of thousands of devotees on Teej Day. Police personnel will be mobilised to manage the crowd and ensure security. Security staff from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, other security agencies, and volunteers will be present at the Pashupatinath area.

Thieves and pickpockets often take advantage of large crowds to steal cash or snatch jewelry. PADT has advised everyone to avoid wearing expensive jewelry. To control such incidents, police personnel in civilian attire will be deployed from two days before the Teej festival.

All four gates of the temple will open at 3 a.m. on Tuesday and will remain open throughout the day, except during Shreeyantra Pooja and Mahabhog.

The north, south, and east gates will be used for entrance, while the same gates will serve as exits. PADT will manage security, healthcare services, drinking water, and restrooms, the officials said. Vehicle parking will be arranged at the open area near Tilganga Eye Hospital, the Sifal ground, the open area across Guheshwori, the Bhandarkahal parking area, and the PADT 

office premises.

On the day of Teej, women are adorned in red saris and red bangles, with red vermilion powder applied on their foreheads. They fast throughout the day, wishing for a prosperous life, perpetual luck, and happiness for their families and children.

On the night before Teej, women enjoy a variety of delicacies known as Dar at their parental homes, where they are specially invited to celebrate the festival also called Haritalika Teej. The main festival is associated with Goddess Parvati.

Teej holds religious significance as it celebrates the reunion of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Although the festival was once limited to Brahmin and Kshetri women, it is now celebrated by women from other ethnic groups as well.