Nashik: There has been a noticeable drop in the number of ‘VIP’ pilgrims visiting the Trimbakeshwar temple in recent days. Until recently, the temple recorded 500-700 VIP entries on a daily basis, which has now dwindled significantly.The development follows a police operation against alleged ‘VIP darshans’, in which some people were arrested for colluding with insiders and charging excess money from pilgrims for a expedited entry. A trustee was also arrested in this case.Another trustee, choosing anonymity, told TOI, “The temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, has only two ways usually in which pilgrims can seek darshan of the shrine. One is regular queue that takes more than four to six hours, especially during the holidays; the second is a ‘donation darshan’, wherein one can pay Rs200 to the temple trust and facilitate a darshan in two hours.”“The ‘VIP darshan’ is only for those who fit the VIP protocol of the state, such as bureaucrats, senior political leaders and office-bearers. This loophole was exploited by some, and they started it as a business,” he added, elaborating that those helming this caper would send their staff among pilgrims to find people willing to pay high amounts of cash for a darshan. They would tell prospective clients that they could get a darshan in 30 minutes if willing to shell out money.“The amount would depend upon the background of the person, often ranging from Rs2,000 to Rs10,000,” he said.The police action, which led to the arrest of a temple trustee and several associates, sent out a strong message, causing unauthorised agents to flee the premises.“The fact that the VIP registers are now empty instead of the usual hundreds of daily names is a clear indicator of how strong the parallel system was,” said one of the priests of the temple, choosing to stay unnamed.The unauthorised entries were also causing significant congestion at the North Gate and forced common devotees to endure much longer waiting periods in general queues.The pilgrims have welcomed the action, saying it saves the temple from defamation. “Pilgrims who face such harassment only carry back a negative image of the people of this town. They then discourage others from visiting,” said Rajashekhar T from Tamil Nadu, who was on a temple visit with his family on Tuesday.
