Kumbh Mela: Thousands of devotees flout COVID-19 norms, take holy dip in Ganga on Shahi Snan as virus surgesNew Delhi, July 27: There was a stampede-like situation at the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, after thousands of devotees thronged to the shrine on the first Monday of Sawan.
The situation turned worse after visit by VIPs, including Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP leader Uma Bharti.
In a video, that went viral, a huge crowd of devotess can be seen jostling and pushing each other and breaking the security cordon to enter the historicial temple from the gate number 4.
#WATCH | A stampede-like situation was seen at Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh yesterday pic.twitter.com/yxJxIYkAU5
— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2021
At one point of time, devotees even overpowered policemen, inuring several hildren and women, in the incident.
The temple was shut for public on April 9 this year. It had to be closed for the second time during the pandemic that broke out last year.
As per gogernment protocal, only for those who have received at least one dose of Covid vaccine or with a negative RT-PCR test report issued 48 hours prior can visit the temple.
Around 3,500 devotees are permitted to enter the premise between 6 am and 8 pm. There are seven time slots of two hours each, with 500 people allowed in each slot.
Mahakaleshwar temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and it is one of the twelve jyotirlingas in the country. It is visited by a huge number of devotees every year.