As the weather improved and the rains took a break, thousands of devotees came out from their homes and braved an arduous climb of 410 steps to offer gangajal to Pahari Baba on the first somvari or Monday of Shravan.

The devotees started trooping in for prayers at Pahari Mandir, located 2,140 feet above sea level atop Ranchi Hill on Ratu Road, since 2.45am. Till 2.30pm, the footfall had crossed 45,000.

Ranchi Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti, which manages affairs of the temple, introduced a number of new practices this year to make darshan easier and convenient for devotees. One such new entrant is the arghya system, whereby gangajal is offered to Pahari Baba through slope-like structures installed around the shiva linga.

Four such structures have been set up around the shiva linga, thus preventing devotees from pouring gangajal directly on Pahari Baba.

This apart, the samiti also numbered the stairs leading to the hill temple, which made it easier for the devotees to keep a tab on how close they were to Pahari Baba with each step.

"I was told that 410 stairs lead to the hill. Somehow, the numbering made the climb easier, as I was able to know how far I was from Baba after every step I took," Simitra Devi, a septuagenarian from Lake Road, said.

The weather also played a true sport. After three days of rainfall, the sun shone in the morning and those who had decided to offer prayers at home changed their plans and flocked to the temple.

The temple authorities made foolproof arrangements. Out of 32 CCTV cameras installed on the temple premises, 28 were operational on Monday. There were separate routes for entrance and exit. Around 200 constables, including a group of 50 women personnel, were vigilant at strategic locations. Around the hill, drop gates were fixed to restrict entrance of vehicles.