Priests’ attire and tilak on forehead— Varanasi police personnel posted at Kashi Vishwanath Temple sport a makeover

Priests’ attire and tilak on forehead— Varanasi police personnel posted at Kashi Vishwanath Temple sport a makeover

The Varanasi police have stationed male personnel wearing the traditional dhoti-kurta attire at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in order to foster a more welcoming environment at the place of worship.

According to Varanasi police, the personnel also sport a tilak on their forehead like the temple priests. The personnel will be stationed at each of the four gates of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.

They will be accompanied by female police personnel in khaki uniforms. The personnel in khaki uniforms will be around 15 metre from the gate of the temple’s sanctorum to monitor the activities around. According to Varanasi police, the personnel will be changed after each shift on a rotational basis.

Additionally, a comprehensive three-day communication skills training programme has been started for the police personnel deployed at the temple and a strict no-touch policy is being enforced.

Varanasi Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal said the initiatives, which started a few days ago, will undergo a 15-day trial period. Later, a review will be conducted and subsequently, a decision will be taken. “We need to ensure that devotees feel respected, especially during times of large gatherings and visits of VIPs,” Agarwal said.

“Our aim is to enrich the overall visitor experience and dispel any negative perceptions associated with police presence,” said a senior police officer.

This strategy was initially tested in 2018 on an experimental basis. However, it was discontinued for some reason.

A police officer said lengthy queues pose a challenge for the police personnel as delays lead to agitation among the devotees. “To mitigate this, the deployed policemen should exhibit a friendly demeanour. Devotees often regard actions by temple priests more positively,” the officer said.

Agarwal emphasised the use of ropes instead of physical intervention to guide devotees inside the temple. “Officers will refrain from physically relocating devotees or disrupting queues for VIP movements,” he said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav slammed the move and wrote on X, “According to which ‘police manual’ is it correct for policemen to be dressed as priests? Those who give such orders should be suspended. If tomorrow any ‘thug’ (fraudster) takes advantage of this and loots the innocent public, then what will the UP government and administration answer? Condemnable!”.

Around 800 police personnel of various ranks are stationed for security at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple on a rotational basis, with approximately 250 deployed at any given time. Currently, the temple attracts around five lakh devotees every day.

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