Free from queues: Kanwariyas at Babadham. Telegraph picture

Kanwariyas reaching Babadham (Deoghar temple) this Shravan would be spared the rigour of standing in long queues to offer prayers.

This year, the month of Shravan starts from July 23.

The Deoghar district administration, along with Baba Baidyanath Temple Management Board, will introduce a new system under which each devotee will be allotted a time slot to offer prayers, relieving them of the need to stand in long queues for eight to 10 hours.

Addressing a news meet in Patna on Monday, Deoghar district magistrate Rahul Kumar Purwar, said: “Kanwariyas reaching Deoghar will be provided a time slot when they can offer prayers.”

The advantage of the new system will be that kanwariyas would not have to stand in long queues as they can offer prayers at a specified time. Under the time-slot biometric entry system, every pilgrim needs to approach one of the kiosks set up by the temple committee with an identity proof like voter card or an equivalent document to get a biometric wristband costing Rs 10 each.

Each wristband will have an embedded bar code with details of the pilgrim. Armed with the biometric wristband, the pilgrim needs to approach one of the dozen kiosks jointly set up by the temple management, district administration and police station to get a Suvidha Pass.

This all-important card will have the specific time slot for the pilgrim concerned. However, a pilgrim will have to stay somewhere in the temple town for at least a day because instant time slots would not be available because of the heavy rush. In that case a pilgrim would have to look for lodging on his own or stay at the waiting room to be built by the temple management.

From this year, the temple management has also decided to make new arrangements for pilgrims to offer arghya (offering). Pilgrims would not be allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum for this. They have to offer Ganga jal through a specially designed vessel kept outside the temple.

“Based on footage of closed-circuit television cameras recorded from the sanctum sanctorum, we have gathered that only 10 per cent of the devotees are able to offer the holy Ganga water successfully to the main deity. This is the result of huge crowd visiting the temple town during Shravan Mela,” Purwar said.

“With the introduction of the new arghya system, devotees can at least offer Ganga jal to the deity,” he added.