Kangra, April 10: Over 18.85 lakh pilgrims visited major Shakti Peethas in Himachal Pradesh during this year’s Navratri festival, which concluded on April 6, police said on Thursday.
A statement from the police headquarters noted that Jawala Ji temple in Kangra district saw the highest footfall, with 7.82 lakh devotees arriving over the nine-day festival. Other prominent sites also recorded heavy pilgrim traffic, including Mata Bala Sundri temple in Sirmaur with 3.42 lakh visitors, Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur with 3.20 lakh, and Baglamukhi temple in Kangra with 1.30 lakh.
Chintpurni temple in Una drew 1.23 lakh visitors, while Brijeshwari Devi temple and Chamunda Devi temple, both located in Kangra, recorded 96,850 and 89,000 pilgrims respectively.
Traffic movement in temple towns surged during the period. “Our data shows that 15,481 heavy vehicles, 66,996 light vehicles, and 55,718 two-wheelers entered these areas,” the statement added.
A police official said arrangements were in place to manage the massive turnout. “With the large inflow of pilgrims, we deployed additional forces and coordinated with local authorities to ensure smooth traffic and crowd control,” he mentioned.
