Himachal: Deotsidh town decks up for month-long Chaitra fair

Most of them visit the temple during the Chaitra fair along with their families Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Debasweta Banik recently unveiled a QR code of a YouTube channel of Baba Balak Nath Mandir Nyas.

The historic town of Deotsidh in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district has been decked up for the month-long Chaitra fair starting Sunday.

The town – which house the cave shrine of Baba Balak Nath (incarnation of Lord Kartikeya) -- is located atop Dhaulgiri hills of the Shivalik ranges of the Himalayas between the districts of Hamirpur and Bilaspur. Hundreds of shops selling various types of items, especially food, have come up adjacent to the Baba Balak Nath temple complex in view of the fair.

During the fair, people offer “roates” made of wheat mixed with ghee and jaggery at the cave to seek the blessings of the Lord.

Baba remained a bachelor and that is why women are not allowed to enter the cave. They are, however, allowed to have a glimpse of the cave from a platform erected by the temple management, temple officials said.

Nearly 50-60 lakh people across the country and abroad visit the temple every year to pay their obeisance to the Babaji, officials said. Most of them visit the temple during the Chaitra fair along with their families Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Debasweta Banik recently unveiled a QR code of a YouTube channel of Baba Balak Nath Mandir Nyas. Scanning of this QR code would enable the devotees to have ‘darshan’ and see ‘aarti’ and other activities of Baba's cave on the channel.

Banik said adequate security measures have been made to maintain law and order during the fair.

CCTV cameras have been installed and a police control room has been set up, she said, adding a ban has been imposed on carrying arms and ammunition in the vicing of the temple.

The temple complex and its surrounding areas have been divided into five sectors, the officials said.

The SDM of Badsar has been appointed as the mela officer while the DSP of Badsar will be the mela police officer, they said.

The temple will be kept open 24 hours during the fair for the convenience of the devotees, the officials said.