Last week, the holy town of Pandharpur witnessed the Ashadi Ekadashi pass off smoothly, thanks to the measures taken by the district administration to control the congregation of more than 10 lakh devotees. Bearing in mind the stampedes at other religious places, the administration had exclusively focused on crowd management and had done its homework a month in advance.

The administration had also brought about certain changes in the traditional rituals. Keeping in mind that the death of hundreds of devotees at Mandhradevi Kalubali hill temple in Satara district a couple of years back occurred due to the spilling of oil and coconut water that made the surface slippery, the administration had banned the ritual of coconut-breaking in Pandharpur.

Every year in the month of June, devotees from across the country throng to the temples of Vitthala and Rukmini at Pandharpur in Solapur district. The number swells to lakhs and yet the district administration, unlike its counterparts in certain other parts of the country, has been able to avoid unpleasant incidents. In its efforts, it has been ably supported by the disciplined dindis and palkhis of various religious leaders.

District Collector Jagdish Patil said, “Barricading, keeping the 4,000 state transport buses out of the town, and providing basic facilities like drinking water to the devotees through 350 volunteers have worked in our favour. Earlier, devotees used to break coconut during the pilgrimage. The area used to become slippery. After the Mandhradevi incident, we banned the ritual, despite opposition from some devotees. After all, it is for their safety.”