Lucknow, 12 August

(H.S.): In the month of Sawan, huge crowds of devotees gathered at almost all

the holy places and ghats of the state. This gave a boost to tourism and

provided business to local businessmen. It also became a means to further

strengthen the state's economy. In this sequence, devotees performed

Jalabhishek of Lord Shiva in ancient temples from the capital Lucknow to

Varanasi. The entire atmosphere resonated with chants of 'Har Har Mahadev' at

Shiva temples in Barabanki, the Shravan fair in Baghpat and the Garhmukteshwar

Ghat in Hapur. This information was given by the state's Tourism and Culture

Minister Jaiveer Singh on Tuesday.

He told that while 5 to

6 thousand devotees used to visit Lucknow's famous Mankameshwar temple on

normal days, this number increased to 15 to 20 thousand in the month of Sawan.

At the same time, the number of devotees in Buddheshwar temple was more than 20

thousand every Wednesday and Monday. About 12 lakh devotees reached Barabanki's

Lodheshwar Mahadev temple this Sawan, out of which 2.05 to 3 lakh devotees

performed Jalabhishek on Monday alone. Apart from this, about 14 lakh people

participated in the Shravan fair of Baghpat, while more than 5 lakh devotees

performed puja on Monday alone. More than one lakh Kanwariyas returned with

Gangajal from Garhmukteshwar Ghat, Hapur. At the same time, 8 to 10 lakh

devotees visited the Gola Gokarnath temple of Lakhimpur Kheri.

Jaiveer Singh said that

similarly, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham remained the biggest spiritual attraction

of the month of Shravan this time too. It is estimated that the crowd has

increased by more than 10 percent compared to last year. On an average, 70,000

to 82,000 devotees arrived every day, with the highest crowd recorded on

Monday. This increase is being considered a result of the spiritual importance

of Kashi and the better facilities provided by the government and the success

of crowd management.

According to the records

of July 2025 of the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department, a tremendous increase was

recorded in tourism related activities in the capital Lucknow during the month

of Sawan. About 3.50 lakh tourists stayed in residential hotels alone,

including about 5,000 foreign tourists. More than 6.04 lakh people gathered in

the traditional fairs held during Sawan. About 49,200 people participated in

the cultural programs and festivals held in Lucknow this month, while more than

16,700 people gathered in the traditional festivals. These figures prove that

religious and cultural tourism is continuously increasing in the state and

Sawan festivals are one of the major reasons for this increase.

While there were chants

of Lord Shiva in temples this Sawan, this time was also very good for the

traders. Mahant Leelapuri ji of Lucknow's famous Buddheshwar temple said that 'this

temple is one of the most ancient and sacred Shiva temples of the city, where

lakhs of devotees reached for darshan in the month of Sawan. In this Sawan, a

grand Maha Aarti was organized on four Mondays and four Wednesdays at 7:30 pm,

while the morning Maha Aarti was held every day at 4:30 am. Due to the

beautification work done by the Tourism Department, now the devotees do not

face any kind of inconvenience during darshan here. This time was also very

profitable for the local traders.' Sandeep Kesari, a wholesale trader of

Dalmandi market in Varanasi, said, 'This time the sales increased almost five

times compared to last year. Mahakaal themed T-shirts were sold a lot.' Tourism

and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh said that Shravan 2025 has proved to be a

golden chapter in the religious, cultural and economic life of Uttar Pradesh.

The unprecedented presence of devotees proved the state to be the leading

religious tourism center of the country. We ensured that every devotee gets a seamless,

safe and pleasant experience. Also, the infrastructure of the pilgrimage sites

was strengthened more than ever.

Principal Secretary

Tourism and Culture, Mukesh Kumar Meshram said that this unprecedented crowd

gathered in Shravan 2025 is a living proof of the great success of our

religious tourism policy. From the arrangements of the temple complexes to

transportation, security and facilities, meticulous preparations were made at

every level, so that the devotees could have a safe, comfortable and unforgettable

spiritual experience.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi