KATHMANDU: The Pashupati Area Development Trust has set aside Rs 15 million for the Mahashivaratri festival.
The Trust has announced that the budget will be used for painting, decoration, and other preparations in the Pashupati area.
According to Narayan Subedi, Treasurer of the Trust and Coordinator of the Shivaratri Monitoring and Data Collection Management Committee, the exact expenditure on each heading will be disclosed within 15 days after Mahashivaratri.
He explained that it would take a few days to calculate the offerings made during the festival before the financial details can be made public.
On Mahashivaratri, the Pashupati Temple attracts a massive crowd, with an estimated 10 devotees visiting every 2 seconds.
The fund has arranged for 10 separate lines for visiting the temple, and all four gates will be open for devotees from 2:30 am on Wednesday to 6 am on Thursday.
Subedi expects more than 500,000 people to visit the temple during the 28-hour period.
To manage the large influx of devotees, 41 organizations will work as volunteers for the festival, deploying around 4,000 volunteers in total.
Volunteer groups such as Nepal Scout, Lions Club, and the World Hindu Youth Council will assist outside the main temple to facilitate the lines for darshan.
Comprehensive security arrangements have been made with the involvement of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Traffic Police, Armed Police Force Nepal, and the National Investigation Department. Nepal Police and Armed Police Force Nepal will operate the command posts, and sub-command posts have been set up at Gorakhnath, Kailash, and Banakali.
Additionally, CCTV cameras have been installed along the Darshan Marg, and heritage-friendly parking spaces have been designated with the help of the Traffic Police Division.
To ensure smooth management of the Mahashivaratri festival, 11 committees have been formed. The main committee, the ‘Mahashivaratri Festival Management Main Ceremony Committee-2025,’ is chaired by Tourism Minister Badri Prasad Pandey.
Ten sub-committees will oversee different aspects of the festival, including security, volunteer mobilization, health services, and religious program arrangements.
With extensive preparations and coordinated efforts, the Pashupati Area Development Fund aims to ensure a safe and orderly celebration of Mahashivaratri for the hundreds of thousands of devotees expected to visit.
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