Amid rise in border tensions, Golden Temple footfall drops by 70%

Golden Temple is witnessing a significant drop in the number of devotees visiting the shrine due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The decrease in footfall comes after parts of Pakistani missiles were found in fields near the holy city, causing panic among locals.

According to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages the affairs of the Golden Temple, the number of devotees visiting the shrine has fallen by an unprecedented 70% over the past two days.

On normal days, the shrine is typically filled with long queues of devotees. However, on Wednesday and Thursday, the premises appeared noticeably empty with no crowd congestion at the shrine, including the langar hall. Devotees present at the site were able to pay their obeisance without hassle, said an SGPC official.

Bhagwant Singh Dhangera, general manager of the shrine, said, “Yesterday (on Wednesday), the footfall was very low. In the evening, there were only a few devotees at the bridge connecting the Sachkhand (sanctum sanctorum) to the darshani deori. Today (on Thursday), I noticed a slight improvement, but overall, the dip is quite rare.”

Dhangera explained that while a decrease in footfall is common during the harvesting season, the current dip is much more severe due to the tense situation. “Panic due to the war-like situation is making people prefer staying at home, with many focused on emergency preparations,” he added.

The situation worsened early Thursday when explosions and flashing lights were reported around 1 am, followed by a power shutdown. Debris resembling missiles was later found in fields on the outskirts of the city.

This sharp drop in visitors mirrors the lowest footfall ever recorded during the lockdown in 2020, when daily visits plummeted from around one lakh to just 1,000. At that time, the daily offerings collection also saw a massive decline, from ₹23 lakh per day in 2019-20 to just ₹10,000– ₹15,000.