Varanasi: The massive influx of devotees attending the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj has significantly impacted the crowd at Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Devotees who take the holy dip in the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj also visit Baba Vishwanath in Varanasi, leading to long queues extending up to 4 kilometres.
Over the last nine days, more than 60 lakh devotees have visited the temple, nearly double the number typically seen during the Sawan and Shivratri festivals.
From February 8 to 16, the temple witnessed an unprecedented surge in visitors. The highest number of devotees, 8.30 lakh, visited on February 13. The temple administration has been working round the clock to accommodate the growing number of visitors, ensuring facilities were in place and regularly checking the arrangements for smooth darshan.
Temple Public Relations Officer Gajendra said that the process of darshan and worship continues to run smoothly, with efforts made to provide easy access for all devotees.
The number of visitors to the temple was recorded as follows:
| Number Of Visitors | Date |
| 6,21,408 | February 8 |
| 5,96,745 | February 9 |
| 6,12,980 | February 10 |
| 7,19,225 | February 11 |
| 7,78,697 | February 12 |
| 8,26,194 | February 13 |
| 7,32,476 | February 14 |
| 6,39,465 | February 15 |
| 5,61,098 | February 16 |
Union Minister Chirag Paswan also visited Varanasi on Sunday. He first visited Prayagraj, taking a holy dip in the Sangam with his family, before proceeding to Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The temple's head priest, Shreikant, performed special rituals for the minister.
Due to the overwhelming crowd, schools up to Class 8th in Varanasi have been closed until February 22. The number of devotees in the city is continuing to rise, with significant crowds also gathered in Ayodhya Ram Temple. To manage the flow, the administration has issued new traffic and bathing guidelines for the Maha Kumbh. The ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela has now become the world's largest spiritual gathering, with more than 500 million direct participants, surpassing the populations of several major countries.
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