Mobile SMS Guide for Devotees Visiting Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar during Shravani Mela

Shravani Mela held during the Shravan Month in the famous Baba Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar dedicated to Lord Shiva attracts millions of devotees. The Jharkhand State Tourism Department has launched a mobile SMS service to guide pilgrims to Deoghar Shiva Temple. The free SMS service includes information on hotels, restaurants, hospitals and the service also provide information on demand.

Millions of devout Hindus from India and Nepal carry the holy water from the Ganga River from Sultanganj to Deoghar Shiva Temple during Shravani Mela. Sultanganj is the only place where the Ganga River flows northwards. It is considered highly auspicious to offer Ganga water collected from Sultanganj at Deoghar Shiva Temple. The Kanwarias who participate in the pilgrimage walk barefooted from Sultanganj to Deoghar – a trek of 110 km.

The free SMS facility is also provided to those who visit Basukinath Dham in Dumka.

The Telegraph Reports

“Once the kanwarias enter the networked zone, they start receiving information on food joints, lodges and health centres on their mobile phones, which must be bluetooth-enabled. Information on tourist spots and places of religious importance are also fed into their network,” said Tourism secretary Arun Kumar Singh.

Tourism officials said the objective was to guide devotees who often come from far-flung areas and are not acquainted with the available resources in the temple towns. Besides free information via text messages, the service also promises information on demand.

“Pilgrims can type in ‘JT’ (for Jharkhand tourism) followed by space and question on their handset and send it to 56006. For instance, if a vehicle develops snag, a kanwaria can locate the nearest workshop in a jiffy by just sending a text message,” Singh said.

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