28 lakh devotees flock to Poonam fair Ambaji mela

Lakhs of devotees on Monday visited the Poonam fair held at the Ambaji temple which culminated the same day. More than 28 lakh devotees who came to the mela had walked all the way there and spent the last seven days taking darshan.

Amidst heavy security and checking, devotees stood in long queues for hours just to have a darshan of the Goddess Ambaji. There were 50 seva camps organised for the devotees in advance.

Most of the hotels and inns were full as the devotees had booked the lodges in advance. Since morning, devotees were seen with large quantity of bhog for the Goddess. They also sung aarti. The temple was decorated with flowers brought from different countries.

However, the rains to some extent played spoilsport as many people didn’t turn up for the mela on Monday. Speaking to DNA, Praneshbhai, one of the devotees said, “Due to heavy rains on Sunday night, fewer people visited the temple on Monday. The temple usually witnesses a heavy rush of devotees every year on Bhadarvi sud Poonam as it is the day when Goddess Ambaji was born. It is popularly known as Pragatotsav (appearance of Goddess).”