Mathura all set to welcome devotees on New Year 2023

MATHURA: Mathura - the temple city of Uttar Pradesh, has witnessed a surge in devotees' footfall as people are reaching here ahead of the New Year 2023.

A large number of devotees reached major temples of the city especially Banke Bihari Temple on Saturday to offer prayers on New Year's Eve.

Police Personnel in large numbers have been deployed at different places across Mathura and all the famous food outlets and restaurants are also geared up to welcome the guests with special delicacies.

According to the police, there will be a rush of devotees at the temple of Lord Banke Bihari and Shri Krishna Janmasthan, Govardhan, Barsana, and Gokul temples on Sunday.

Arrangements are made accordingly to handle the crowd. As per the Police, CCTV cameras have been installed to check for any untoward incident.

Hotels and restaurants are also trying to encash the opportunity by attracting customers. Selfie points have been arranged at different places in Mathura.

"In the morning, the devotees go to the temple. But in the evening, they want to enjoy themselves with friends and family. That's why the hotels are decorated with electric lights. People are loving hot 'kachori and jalebi' during the cold," Praveen Kalra, owner of one of the eateries told ANI.

Being asked about whether covid-19 is proving to be a deterrent for the revellers, he said, "With the number of people coming to Mathura, it does not seem people are scared of Covid-19. They simply want to enjoy this season."

"We have come to celebrate this time in the city of Kanha. We have made some changes this time. Banke has come to visit Bihari and is enjoying Kachori Jalebi in this cold winter," a devotee said.