Mahalaxmi temple beefs up security

With the Navratri festival around the corner, the Mahalaxmi Temple Charitable Trust is not taking any chances on security.
Given the terror attacks in the city, the Trust is taking several security measures for a safe celebration.

It is planning to ban metal plates, which devotees usually carry inside the temple.

These plates have offerings such as garlands, coconuts and prasad kept on them and are carried inside the temple.

With Navratri falling on Wednesday, the temple authorities also installed more than 50 CCTV cameras on the temple premises.
According to sources, these plates are likely to cause a security issue and so the trust is planning to ban the metal plates. It is also mulling to ban plastic bags and other environmentally hazardous materials during the nine-day festival.

They have also made arrangements to prevent people from crowding the temple premises and creating a security hazard.
Mahalaxmi Temple is one of the most famous temples of Mumbai on Bhulabhai Desai Road. Getting a darshan at Mahalaxmi has never been an easy task.

Devotees have to queue up for hours to have a glimpse of the deity.

Every year, more than four lakh people visit Mahalaxmi temple during Navratri, making it the most-visited temple in the city during the nine-day festival.

“This year, we beefed up security around the entire temple premises. One of the security measure was we appealed to shopkeepers not to use metal plates for carrying garlands and prasad,” said SV Padhye, manager of Mahalaxmi Temple Charitable Trust.

“For devotees’ security, we have installed 50 CCTV cameras in different places on the temple premises. We had a meeting with the police on security issues and according to their suggestion, we have made the changes. Every devotee should have to pass through a metal detector,” he added.

He added that for security reasons, they would not allow any baggage inside the temple. The temple also appealed to shopkeepers against using plastic bags to carry prasad.