Alipurduar, 11th February: The auspicious Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri celebrated in honour of God Shiva falls on February 18 this year. Like every year on Maha Shivaratri, a large number of devotees visit the Mahakal Caves, located in the village of Jayanti situated close to the Bhutan border. It is a popular pilgrimage site.
Situated at an altitude of about 3000 feet the Mahakal caves are known to be one of the 51 Shakti Peeths in the country. Hence, on Maha Shivaratri, devotees throng from different districts of North Bengal and Bhutan. They have to walk through the dense forest of Buxa Tiger Reserve and the Jayanti river towards the high and inaccessible mountain. There is no road in this difficult terrain.
Keeping all these in mind, various initiatives including temporary roads, drinking water systems, and toilets are being prepared by the administration. Today, Superintendent of Police of Alipurduar Y. Raghuvanshi, DFD Parveen Kaswan of Buxa Tiger Reserve along with administration officials inspected the temple area. Officers of the Bhutanese administration were also present. In this regard, the SP said that thousands of devotees visit the Mahakal temple every year, hence, various initiatives are being taken for the convenience of the devotees.