Groundwork starts on Thursday for the stairway that will lead to Pahari Mandir in Ranchi. Picture Prashant Mitra

A new flight of stairs will soon lead devotees to the scenic Pahari Mandir, with the Ranchi district administration kicking off work on Thursday for a hassle-free Shravani Mela that draws thousands of devotees of Lord Shiva every year.

Workmen also began cleaning up the temple surroundings and giving a fresh coat of paint to the entrance and structures within the premises.

Ranchi deputy commissioner Vinay Kumar Choubey along with city SP R.K. Prasad, sub-divisional magistrate Shekhar Jamuar and district public relations officer Mukul Lakra visited the temple on Wednesday to take stock of preparations for the month-long festival that will begin July 4.

Choubey ordered the officials to be ready with the new staircase by July 9 — the first Monday of the mela this season.

At present, devotees climb up stairs from the eastern side of the hill to reach the famous temple of Lord Shiva situated amid a cluster of tall trees. During the mela, devotees will be asked to take the new staircase, which will come up on the northern side, to go up the hill and walk down the existing stairs in order to ease crowds.

Choubey pointed out that Ranchi Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti, the trust headed by the DC that looks after the temple, had a fund that sufficed for minor works. “The new staircase will be built with money from the fund,” he added.

A barbed wire fence around Pahari Mandir is also coming up as part of a beautification plan for the sacred hillock. However, the district administration is yet to receive a conservation plan, the blueprint of which is being prepared by BIT-Mesra, although it was expected in April.

Choubey said he had asked the premier technology institute to submit the blueprint of the plan — focusing on plantation drives to maintain the hill’s greenery and its beautification — in July.

Located in the heart of Ranchi, Pahari Mandir is the main crowd puller even though devotees flock to nearly all the temples during the holy month of Shravan.

The religious hub also stands out for its lush green environs and attracts nearly one lakh devotees on Mondays during Shravan. The count on other days is roughly 20,000.

A health sub-centre also will be set up by the district administration at Pahari Mandir during Shravani Mela to be prepared for medical exigencies.

The temple premises will also be kept polythene-free.

Ashish Kumar Sourabh, public relations officer of A2Z Waste Management Private Ltd, said, “We have already deployed six workers to clean up the temple premises.”

He pointed out that during the mela, A2Z would engage double the number of workers. “We will also place over a dozen dustbins around the hill for devotees. Besides, on Sundays, we will be carrying out special cleanliness drives,” he said.