Thick crowds of devotees offered prayers here on the occasion ofDiwali today at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for the Sikh community.
Although there was an initial uncertainty over whether Diwali would be observed this year at the temple, as its date coincided with the occurrence of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in the country, announcements were made by Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of the Sikh religion) that it would mark the festival as usual with special arrangements.
Devotees started queueing up since 2.30 A.M. At the Golden Temple, which was lit up handsomely for the festival.
According to the management of the Golden Temple, around Rs 1 crore was offered at the shrine on Diwali.
They added that the ‘Langar’ or community kitchen at the temple would cook food for more than 4 lakh devotees who would be staying at the shrine through the night.
The SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Pharbandhak Committee) taskforce was in heavy deployment at the periphery of the temple to provide security.