Shrawani Mela Begins at Kedarnath's Shiromani Lord Shiva Temple

Bhaktapur. The 38-day Shrawani Mela at Kedarnath's Shiromani Lord Shiva Temple is about to begin. It is estimated that about 5 million domestic and Indian devotees will come to the fair. Chairman of Doleshwor Temple Conservation and Development Committee, Dharmaraj Basnet, in Sipadol, Suryavinayak Municipality-8, informed that the preparations for the fair are complete. According to him, there is a large crowd of visitors on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays in the month of Shrawan. Chairman Basnet said that more than 60,000 Indian tourists will come during the fair and the collection of donations this year is estimated to be more than 10 million rupees. He informed that the target is to complete the 50-person capacity old age home building, which is being constructed at a cost of 25 million rupees, this year. 14 sub-committees have been formed for fair management. Coordination has been done with bodies including the Nepali Army and the municipal hospital for the health check-up of devotees. Ward Chairman of Suryavinayak Municipality-8, Pushparaj Basnet, said that a separate line has been arranged for darshan at the temple and the local level will cooperate in the management of the fair. To make the fair safe, surveillance will be done by installing 55 CCTV cameras in the Doleshwor area and surroundings. The work of upgrading the road connecting Doleshwor-Ashapuri Temple is underway. Similarly, a large fair will be held at the nearby Ashapuri Temple in the month of Shrawan. The committee has stated that the fair will be inaugurated by starting a Kalash Yatra from the Changu Narayan Temple area on the upcoming Shrawan 1 and bringing it to Doleshwor Temple.