Govardhan, 2018.05,18 (VT): The shops and streets of Govardhan are buzzing all night these days with the hoards of pilgrims in town for this special period of Purushottam Maas (May 16th to June 13th). In temples all over Braj, special programs are being held and the streets are lined with tourist buses. More than the expected number of visitors have arrived, and if the numbers stay at this level, it is likely that records will be broken for the most number of people doing parikrama during a festival.
Special lighting has been arranged on the Govardhan Parikrama Marg and shops are open day and night. Shopkeeper Chotu Kaushik said that he has divided the day into three shifts to keep the shop open 24 hours per day.
On Wednesday, the first day of Purushottamas, 56 bhog offering to Girriraj was organized at Annakut temple and Thursday saw a Ratha Yatra parade on the streets of Govardhan.
On Thursday evening Shreeji Sadan Nandgaon organized a program where hundreds of people from Nandagao danced in a wedding procession (barat) for the ‘wedding’ of Radha and Krishna.
The district administration has divided the Parikrima area into two zones and four sectors and appointed 12 officers in charge. Four medical teams have been set up, at: Radhakunda; Goghania Dharmashala Anyor; Japanese Dharamshala, Jatipura and Govardhan Community Health Center.
At a hearing on 16th May in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the magistrate said that the plans to divert traffic from Govardhan parikrama have not been successful because the service road is not yet complete so Govardhan locals wanting to reach their home have no alternative than to use the Parikrama Marg. Officials were given until 22nd to prepare a detailed proposal for the service road. District Magistrate Sarvagyram Mishra gave an affidavit to say that he will submit the Detailed Project Report of the Service Road on the 22nd May.
Braj Tirtha Vikas Parishad (BTVP) has prepared a proposal to build a decorative wall in place of the grill that currently separates the inner parikrama area from the road. According to the proposal, the wall will be decorated with verses from Bhagavad Gita. The BVTP is currently seeking approval and recommendations for the project from the NGT, the Tourism Department and local religious leaders.
The post Govardhan becomes a 24 hour city appeared first on Vrindavan Today.