Pilgrims climbing Girnar hill in Junagadh must now register before setting out, under a pilot system the district administration launched on July 18. Anyone starting the climb has to submit the group leader’s name, mobile number, gender, age, home city and state, expected visit date, an Aadhaar number and a photo, either online at Register.bhavnathtemple.com or by scanning a QR code at the new stairway entrance, according to Gujarat Samachar. An offline counter is available for pilgrims without smartphones, and registration is required again on the way down.
Why now
The system follows the death of Mayur Chauhan, an 11-year-old from Kheda district, who was killed by a lion on the Girnar pilgrimage route earlier this month. Gujarat’s Forests Minister Arjun Modhwadia had already announced a broader set of safety measures on July 13, including permanent check posts at sensitive wildlife zones, roughly 25 forest trackers stationed along the route, thermal drone surveillance and a "silence zone" covering the Girnar and Datar stairways, according to News Kerala. The registration system, developed by the district’s NIC team, is the administrative counterpart to those on-ground measures: it gives officials a real-time count of how many people are on the hill and who they are, information that becomes critical if a wildlife encounter or medical emergency forces a rescue or evacuation.
What it means for pilgrims and residents
Girnar draws a steady, unregulated flow of pilgrims and trekkers year-round, many climbing before dawn for the Jain and Hindu temples partway up and the Datar summit shrine further on. Until now, nobody kept a running tally of who was on the mountain at a given time, which meant search-and-rescue teams had no baseline to work from during a lion sighting, a medical episode or a stampede. Mandatory registration changes that, but it also adds friction, particularly for the elderly pilgrims and large family groups who form the bulk of Girnar’s regular footfall and are least likely to complete an online form in advance. The offline counter is meant to cover that gap, though its capacity to handle peak-day crowds without long queues has not yet been tested.
For Junagadh’s tourism economy, which relies on steady pilgrim traffic to Girnar and the adjoining Gir forest circuit, the administration’s challenge is making the system fast enough that it does not discourage visits, while still capturing the data needed to respond quickly if another attack occurs.
What to watch next
The pilot status matters: officials have not said how long the trial will run or what would trigger a permanent rollout, an extension, or a scrapping of the requirement. The real test will come during a high-footfall period, such as an upcoming festival weekend, when queuing at a single QR-code entrance could become its own bottleneck. Whether the district publishes any data from the registration system, such as visitor numbers or average time-on-hill, will also indicate whether the measure is functioning as crowd intelligence or just a compliance exercise.
This report was compiled and written with AI assistance from publicly reported sources, and reviewed for accuracy.
Sources: Gujarat Samachar, News Kerala