No mobile phones in Madhya Pradesh's Mahakal Temple from December 20

Visitors at the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain city will not be permitted to carry their mobile phones inside the premises from December 20 for security reasons, a senior district official said.

The temple management committee headed by its chairman and district collector Ashish Singh took the decision in this regard at a meeting held on Monday. After the meeting, Singh informed that mobile phones will be prohibited inside the temple from December 20 for security reasons. Hotels and other places of lodging have been directed to put up this information so that devotees arrive at the temple without mobile phones, the collector said.

Read | Madras HC bars usage of phones inside temples across Tamil Nadu

The Mahakaleshwar Temple is one of the 12 'jyotirlings' in the country and attracts a large number of devotees. Many other decisions were also taken by the temple management committee.

The collector said said luxury air-conditioned electric buses will be operated in the city for tourists. The buses will be run on routes covering all temples and tourist places on a hop on-hop off basis, for which visitors need to purchase only a single ticket, he said. A call centre will also be started soon with 50 parallel phone lines to help devotees, the collector said.