Patna: Devotees attending Shravani Mela 2024 will benefit from enhanced arrangements by the Tourism Department, ensuring a better experience. Tourism Minister Nitish Mishra, during a press conference at Suchna Bhawan on Saturday, announced the preparations and improvements for this year’s event.
Mishra recalled his childhood memories of the holy journey from Baba Ajgaibinath in Sultanganj to Baba Vaidyanath Dham in Deoghar, noting that he personally understands the areas needing improvement. To address these, four teams were formed three months ago under the leadership of a Joint Secretary rank officer. These teams identified shortcomings every 25 km along the route, resulting in several quality enhancements based on last year’s experiences.
Key improvements include additional accommodation for Kanwariyas, an increased number of Kanwar stands, enhanced cleanliness in the tent city, daily changing of bed sheets, and a plastic-free environment. Mishra stated that these changes would make Shravani Mela even more attractive this year.
The Shravani Mela will run from July 22 to August 19, 2024. Last year, 75 lakh devotees attended, and this year, the Tourism Department is prepared to welcome even more. A people-counting camera system has been installed for accurate counting of devotees.
Minister Mishra said, “For the first time, a tent city of 200 beds each has been established in Sultanganj and Dhobai of Bhagalpur, while a 600-bed tent city has been constructed in Abrakha of Banka and a 200-bed city in Khaira of Munger, totaling 1200 beds. Managers have been appointed at all locations to ensure proper management of residential facilities. These tent cities will feature security personnel, hygiene facilities, daily changing of bed sheets, medical services, clean toilets, drinking water, fans, and silencer generators for uninterrupted power supply. Toilets will be cleaned continuously after every 5-10 uses. Devotees are urged to keep the premises tobacco and plastic-free. Permanent tourist structures along the Kanwaria path will be equipped with accommodation, cafeterias, and solar lights year-round.”
A 24-hour call center toll-free number (18003097677) will operate at the Tourism Corporation headquarters in Patna, with personnel available in three shifts to assist devotees. Information related to the fair, including accommodation, medical arrangements, police contacts, and important telephone numbers, is available on the Bihar Tourism mobile app and website. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Tourism Secretary Abhay Kumar Singh announced that daily cultural programs would be organized in all tent cities to introduce Kanwariyas to the folk culture of Bihar. The Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation has set up stages, lighting, and sound systems for these presentations. Additionally, 200 new Kanwar stands have been constructed, and registration counters for Dak Bam have been established. CCTVs have been installed at various locations for security, and water tankers and suction pumps will be available on the Kanwariya path.
Twelve temporary tourist information centers have been set up along the Kanwariya route, with trained guides to provide information and assistance to devotees. These centers are located at:
1. Sultanganj Station
2. Bus Stand-Sultanganj
3. Sultanganj
4. Dhandi Bellary
5. Kumarsar
6. Dhori
7. Suiya
8. Abrakha
9. Katoria
10. Inaravaran
11. Dumma
12. Basukinath Path.
“An administrative block and a medical block have been constructed in Sultanganj, where a grand Aarti of Ganga Ji will be held daily. A pagoda has also been built for devotees to sit”, Singh added.
Tourism Director Vinay Kumar Rai mentioned that brochures related to Shravani Mela have been printed and will be distributed free of cost among Kanwariyas. A documentary on Shravani Mela, prepared by the Tourism Department, was also shown during the press conference.
