Barahi Devi temple area rigged with CCTVs to see no blood is shed during Bagwal: Official

People coming to the Barahi Devi temple in Champawat's Devidhura will be kept under CCTV watch to ensure they do not smuggle stones inside.

Pithoragarh: People coming to the Barahi Devi temple in Champawat’s Devidhura will be kept under CCTV watch to ensure they do not smuggle stones inside and engage in mock fights to shed blood and please the goddess, as has been the tradition.

Traditionally, people hurl stones at each other in a mock battle during the festival and shed blood to please the presiding goddess Barahi.

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Locals believe that not shedding blood on the occasion will anger the goddess and invite disaster.

It is said that in ancient times there was a tradition of making human sacrifice at the temple, which later evolved into mock battle with stones.

An Uttarakhand High Court order in 2013 banned the use of stones during the festival and replaced them with flowers, fruits, and vegetables so that no one was hurt.

Despite the ban, some participants succeed in carrying stones secretly to the ground where the Bagwal festival takes place and is observed by thousands of people from their rooftops.

“The battle of Bagwal will be played with fruits and vegetables in place of stones keeping the court’s order in mind,” said Champawat District Magistrate Navneet Pandey on Monday after reviewing preparations for the festival and the fair that is organised as part of it.

CCTV cameras are being installed in the whole mela area to keep an eye, he said.

Water, electricity, transport, sanitation, parking and first aid facilities will also be available in the fair, he said.

“An area spread over 6.5 km has been notified as Mela area. We will see that the court orders are complied with. However, ambulances and medical teams will also be kept ready to meet any emergency,” the DM said.

“Though Bagwal is played with fruits and vegetables after the honourable court’s order, the worship of goddess Barahi is considered complete only after shedding blood,” Pati Block Pramukh Sumanta said.

The fair begins on August 27 but the stone pelting battle coincides, like every year, with the festival of Raksha Bandhan on August 31.