Nearly half a million people visited the Pashupatinath Temple premises in Kathmandu on Wednesday on the occasion of Mahashivaratri, according to police deployed to oversee security in one of the shrine’s biggest annual events.

On Wednesday, President Ramchandra Poudel and other dignitaries reached the Pashupatinath temple to pay homage to Lord Shiva on the occasion of Mahashivaratri.

Also, Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav visited the shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva on Wednesday.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak had reached Pashupatinath Temple on Tuesday evening to inspect the preparations for the Mahashivaratri festival. On the occasion, thousands of people visit the temple area to pray to the Hindu lord.

Mahashivaratri is one of the four nights—Kaalratri, Moharatri, Sukharatri and Shivaratri—considered sacred according to the Vedic calendar, and regarded as one of the greatest festivals in the Puranas—holy scriptures of the Hindus.

During the day, devotees take baths in rivers and ponds, visit Lord Shiva’s shrines and pay homage to one of the triumvirates of the Hindu pantheon, who is believed to have drunk poison to save humankind and gods from annihilation, according to Hindu mythology.

Likewise, fasting is also observed during the festival and the night observed with vigil (jagram), praying to and celebrating the day dedicated to Lord Shiva. There is a belief that vigil and fasting take one to heaven after death and many Hindu believers visit Pashupatinath Temple on the auspicious occasion.

Superintendent of Police Aprilraj Bohara, spokesperson for the District Police Range Kathmandu, under whose command almost 4,200 police personnel were deployed in the Pashupatinath area said more than 400,000 people visited the temple on Wednesday.

Various security agencies had mobilised their personnel to ensure that devotees could visit the temple quickly. More than 10,000 people, including from the security agencies and various organisations, were mobilised in the Pashupati area on Wednesday, said Sanjaya Bahadur Raut, spokesperson for the Traffic Police department.

Raut said that although devotees could easily visit the shrine in the morning and evening, there were some problems in managing the crowd in the afternoon.

“Earlier, we did not divert the traffic route because it would be inconvenient for the public to commute, but we had to divert vehicles after there was a problem in managing the crowd during the afternoon,” Raut said.

Khushi Pandey, a permanent resident of Kirtipur 5, who visited Pashupatinath on the occasion of Mahashivaratri, also said that crowds of devotees and visitors were mismanaged.

The Pashupati Area Development Trust had said that on an average five people would be able to pray before the Shiva Linga every second from the temple’s four doors.

The Pashupati Area Development Trust arranged for a special worship at the temple from 7pm, Wednesday. Devotees who paid Rs15,000 were able to perform the puja for up to an hour without waiting in a queue.

Rajkumar Khatri, council member and coordinator of the publicity subcommittee of the Pashupati Area Development Fund, said that around 250 people registered to perform this special puja.

Khatri also acknowledged that the crowd management during the afternoon and during the movement of VVIPs was not efficient.

Khatri says that exact information on how many people visited Pashupatinath was yet to come.

According to the Kathmandu police range, 75 people were held from the temple premises on Wednesday for “unwanted activities”.

The accused have been kept at the Gaushala Police Circle and the District Police Range, Kathmandu. Bohara said those who tried to steal a gold chain and those who made noise after smoking marijuana were caught. “We have taken them into custody after checking their profiles,” said SP Bohara.

All those arrested are men. Bohara also said that those involved in wrongdoings will be charged after an investigation.