Bhubaneswar: Thousands of ‘kanwariyas’ or ‘Bol bom’ devotees, carrying pots full of sanctified water on their shoulders, waited in long queues to offer the holy water on Lord Lingaraj here on the first Monday of Hindu month Shravan.
The ‘Bol Bam’ chanting Lord Shiva devotees, clad in saffron clothes, started their journey in groups Sunday night after picking up water from various water bodies including Mahanadi’s Gadagadia Ghat in Cuttack.
They were seen making a serpentine queue outside the temple waiting for their turn to offer the water to the lord.
The Lingaraj temple administration has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure proper facilities are offered to the devotees and the water offering ceremony is conducted peacefully. The temple administration has organised for the camping of the Kanwariyas near the shrine and adjoining areas. The temple surrounding has been barricaded and cleaning staff are deployed to clean the area at regular intervals.
The Commissionerate Police has taken adequate steps to regulate traffic en route and maintain law and order at the temple. Two platoons of police have been deployed to maintain law and order situation and 21 CCTV cameras also installed in and around the temple to monitor the movement of the people in the area.
Similarly, Bol Bom devotees throng in large number at Lokanath Temple in Puri and Akhandalamani Temple in Bhadrak since morning to offer water to the lords.
