Preparations on for Bada Mangal

LUCKNOW: Gujarat might have become the address of communal minded people, but in far-away Lucknow, the Bada Mangal festival in the Aliganj temple is an example of religious harmony, with many of the devotees thronging the temple being Muslims.
Miraj Ahmed and Jawed were some of the ‘sevaks’ who were worked through the night on Sunday, to ensure that the preparations for Bada Mangal were perfect.
More than 1 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple beginning at midnight on Monday. The management of the temple had taken special precautions this year by installing closed-circuit cameras at five places in the temple precincts to check any anti-social activity.
Separate entry points had been made for men and women to facilitate easy movement of the large number of devotees. A uniform rate card has been issued to shopkeepers by the Lucknow Nagar Nigam, to check indiscriminate charging. LNN has been conducting periodic checks to ensure the quality of food in these shops. Navneet Sehgal, district magistrate, Lucknow said an ADM and SP have been asked to camp in the temple.
The temple administration has banned the use of polythene inside the temple. The six toilets in the temple would prove insufficient for the thousands of devotees. Film-buffs can look-out for actor Sunil Dutt, while governor Vishnukant Shastri’s visit has been put off.