Hola Mohalla fair gets underway at Dera Baba Badbhag Singh shrine

The 10-day-long Hola Mohalla fair began at Dera Baba Badbhag Singh shrine at Mairi villge in Amb subdivision of Una district on Tuesday. The event draws lakhs of devotees from northern regions of the country who come here to pay their obeisance at the dera and at the adjoining Manji Sahib Gurdwara before taking a dip in the ‘Charan Ganga’ that flows down through the valley. As per a legend, doing so relieves people of mental illnesses.

Thousands of devotees began pouring in to pay obeisance at the shrine since early morning. To avoid accidents, the police had made arrangements to ensure that the devotees did not enter the district on double-decker commercial vehicles or modified tractor-trailers. The district administration has also banned carrying of food in polythene bags and other plastic disposables.

CCTV cameras have been installed at hotspots and 1,750 police and Home Guards personnel have been deployed on duty. The health, sanitation, drinking water and electricity departments have deployed additional staff to ensure uninterrupted services. The entire shrine area has been divided into 10 sectors, each under the command of a Sector Magistrate and a Sector Police Officer, while the Additional District Magistrate and the Additional SP, Una, have been designated as the Mela Magistrate and the Mela Police Officer, respectively.

The “Jhanda” or Nishan Sahib will be hoisted on March 3 while the “prasad” will be distributed among the devotees during the night intervening March 5 and 6, when the fair will end.