The faithful will now be able to have darshan of Lord Shiva and offer puja at Pahari Mandir from the comfort of their homes with Ranchi’s iconic hill temple announcing live streaming services from July 6 to mark the beginning of the holy month of Shravan.

Following a meeting with temple authorities, Ranchi SDO Lokesh Mishra said devotees would be able to have darshan and see the puja by logging in to the temple’s Facebook page or by visiting the temple’s website.

“There is a page named Ranchi Pahari Mandir on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ranchipahari.mandir.5). Anyone can also visit https://paharimandirranchi.com for online darshan because entry of devotees (to the temple) is banned this time due to Covid-19,” said Mishra, who is also secretary of the Ranchi Pahari Mandir Vikas Samati.

According to information on the temple’s website, during the month of Shravan, Somwari mangala arti begins at 3.30am, while Shringar, Bhog and Arti are performed/offered twice at 5.30pm and 7.30pm after which the temple closes at 9.30pm.

“The schedules will remain more or less the same this time too. We will keep updating details of timings on the website. In case anyone misses a puja, they can go through uploaded videos too,” said another temple official.

Ranchi’s Pahari Mandir. Manob Chowdhury

Pahari mandir receives hundreds of devotees during the holy month of Shravan. On Monday’s, the turnout touches 50,000. But this time, Mishra said, the district administration was fully prepared to ensure no devotee turned up at the temple in strict adherence to lockdown and Covid-19 norms.

“Temple authorities, too, have been asked to ensure no devotee is allowed entry,” he said.

Jharkhand High Court on Friday did not allow the opening of Baba Baidyanathdham temple in Deoghar for this year’s Shravani mela while ruling on BJP’s Giridih MP Nishikant Dubey’s PIL. The court agreed with the state government’s view of not holding the annual fair this time as precautionary measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It has, however, directed temple authorities to arrange for live streaming of pujas, something which the Pahari Mandir has already decided to do.