According to Mahakanta Thakur, priest at the temple, the situation gets worst during the Dashain festival when devotees from across the country and from India throng to pay their homage to the powerful deity. The temple is located 13 km south to district headquarters, Rajbiraj. [break]
“As the road section is narrow in the first place, the damage has greatly affected vehicular movement for years now. It is surprising how the government has been turning a blind eye to the situation,” said Thakur.
Devotees flock the temple from Phulpati to Nawami. Along with locals, thousands of Indians also reach the temple to pay homage.
“However, the damaged road section has led to a decline in the numbers of devotees every year,” said Thakur.
Talking to Republica, a local said that the delay in renovation work on the road section is not the government´s fault but that of the contractor.
“Had the contractor company started the work on time, the hassle of travelling the road section would have ended this year,” said the local.
Adding to the criticism, another local, Kishore Kumar Yadav, said the temple is visited by senior government officials and political leaders on a regular basis but no one has shown concern over the improvement of the road section.
“They leave after assuring us that they will renovate the road section promptly but the assurances are always limited to words,” said Yadav.
Meanwhile, the temple management committee believes that around six million devotees will visit the temple this year. Last year the number of visitors was three to four million.
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