Today, on the occasion of Maha Shivratri, the Government of Madhya Pradesh hosted a grand event in Ujjain, which was executed seamlessly by the Ujjain city administration. On this occasion, the district administration, in partnership with the citizens, facilitated the lighting of lamps in the worship of Lord Shiva.
While attending the event, the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Chouhan said, “The successful execution of this event is a fine example of the principle of ‘Sarva Dharma Sambhaav,’ which was espoused by Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi. It is my earnest wish and prayer that Lord Shiva will bestow his blessings on all the citizens of Madhya Pradesh and will continue to guide us to achieve the dream of Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh.”
Ujjain hosts one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, in the form of Mahakaleshwar. This Mahashivratri, along with organising the Mahadev Utsav for the worship of Lord Shiva, the district administration has registered its name in the Guinness Book by lighting 21 lakh earthen lamps. This event of Shiv Jyoti Arpanam was witnessed by lakhs of devotees on the banks of the Shipra River.
In order to create this world record, the lamps were lit in temples and homes all around Ujjain city, including the banks of the Shipra river, and the courtyard of the Devasthali Mahakal temple. The event saw participation from over 17,000 volunteers, who had registered for this massive event. These volunteers represented various voluntary organizations, students, sportspersons, professionals and social organizations, religious institutions, including the saints of all akhadas.
This was a one-of-a-kind event as the city administration took special care to ensure that the event was eco-friendly and achieved the ‘zero waste’ goal, and adhered to the principle of 3R – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The eco-friendly steps taken by the administration included volunteer identity cards made from recycled paper, usage of paper matchboxes to light the lamps and candles, usage of biodegradable cutlery and plates for food and drink. Following the culmination of the event, the earthen lamps will be reused to make idols, pots, kulhads, in-home composting, among other things. Also, the oil bottles will be recycled responsibly.
Informing about the progress of development being carried out in Ujjain, the religious capital of Madhya Pradesh, CM Chouhan added, “Recently, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of 11 road projects worth Rs 5722 crore for the development of entire Malwa held in Ujjain. This will certainly speed up the rate of development in Ujjain and put Ujjain on the world map as the religious tourism capital of India. Our government is committed to introducing world class facilities to the devotees of Lord Shiva, including the launching of a cable car service from the railway station to the Mahakaleshwar temple.”
On this occasion, CM Chouhan inspected the ongoing works in the first phase of Shri Mahakal Vikas Vistar Yojana costing Rs 750 crore. He also examined the plan for the second phase of the campus expansion at Triveni Museum, which was presented by Ujjain Collector Shri Ashish Singh, IAS.
