On the occasion of Mahashivratri, more than 40,000 devotees visited the famous Siddhababa temple in Tinau rural municipality-3, Dobhan, Palpa. Devotees were able to perform puja at the Siddhartha temple under the Siddhartha highway from 3:30 in the morning.

Santosh Sherchan, President of Siddha Baba Temple Management Committee, said that since the main temple was opened from 3 o'clock in the morning, the line of devotees has already reached. He said that Siddhababa, known as the abode of Siddha Purusha Bhartrihari and the resting place of Rampithecus, a primitive man, is important from the archaeological, religious and touristic point of view, so there is an influx of devotees . "This time it was more crowded than the previous year," he said, "Last year, 35,000 more devotees visited the temple, while this time, 40,000 more devotees came to the temple to worship and do darshan." Apart from Palpa, pilgrims also come from Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Kapilvastu as well as the neighboring country of India. Chairman of Temple Development Committee Sherchan said that Shivaratri festival will be celebrated in such a way that the slogan 'Shiva's glory is immense, restoration of the original temple' will be meaningful. 

Chairman of Temple Development Committee Sherchan said that tokens and free bus have been arranged for the convenience of the devotees who come to visit the temple. "Managing buses from some places for a fee made it easier for more devotees to come," he said. It was managed so that the elderly, disabled and helpless could directly go to the main temple and worship.

30 security personnel, more than 150 volunteers and 18 CCTV cameras have been arranged to monitor Siddhababa temple for the safety of visitors, according to Amar Pradhan, vice president of the committee. He said that arrangements have been made for easy access to sanitation, toilets, parking, storage, drinking water and places to keep shoes and slippers in the Siddhababa area.

According to Arbind Pandey, Publicity Coordinator and Secretary of the Temple Management Committee, in the past, the devotees had to stand in a queue for 2 to 3 hours. This year, two queues have been arranged, so they can worship and visit the temple within an hour. But the devotees complained that it took two to three hours. "We had to wait in line for almost three hours," Chameli Shrestha of Tansen Municipality-7 said, "however, the management of the line was good."

Two free and 7 paid buses have been arranged from different places of Butwal for the devotees visiting the temple. But it was easy as arrangements were made to bring passengers to Siddhababa easily by buses running from other areas including Bhairahawa. Shivratri Mela coordinator and committee member Toya Lamsal said that the main temple is going to be renovated in order to develop Siddha Baba as the Pashupati of West Nepal.

On the occasion of Shivratri festival, Nepal's tallest Mahamrityunjaya Shivamurti Bagnaskali-8, Barangdi is crowded with worshipers and pilgrims. Besides Palpa, devotees from the neighboring districts of Syangja, Rupandehi, Gulmi, Nawalparasi, Kapilvastu also flock here. 

Palpa's Tansen's Thutepipal Shivalaya, Batasedanda, Prabhas, Amarnarayan Mandir, Damakada, Rampur and other places have been crowded with worshipers since morning. Ward president Pradeep Khanal said that there was a crowd in Prabhas along with the agricultural fair and cultural events. According to him, agricultural exhibition and soil testing were also conducted. Besides, the performance of bhajans, cultural program added more excitement . In Prabhas, there was a crowd of bearers, sugarcane eaters and shoppers.