fair is inaugurated on the first day of Chaitra usually by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate by breaking a coconut, which is considered auspicious in Hinduism. The district administration constructs a temporary bus stand for pilgrims at the boundary of the village during the fair, and frequent bus service is operated from there to nearby cities and states. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Uttar Pradesh, the district administration was reluctant to permit the fair in 2020. A special meeting was held, attended by the Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Modinagar Manju Shiwach, tehsildar Umakant Tiwari, and the representatives of gram panchayat on 21 March 2020. It was decided at the meeting that the fair would be cancelled for 2020 with the doors of the temple sealed to the public; however, priests would be allowed to carry on the daily rituals inside the temple. The last time the fair was not organised was during the 1918 flu pandemic in India, when then-mahant of the temple Swami Aditya Goswami decided to close the doors of the temple and postpone the fair to the next year. Security during the festival The temple is provided with security by Uttar Pradesh Police during all nine days of the Navratri festival, with senior officials of both police and district civil administration maintaining a continuous presence because of the large gathering that the temple attracts during these days. Sixteen surveillance cameras have been installed on the temple premises. Door-frame and hand-held metal detectors are used and a dog squad of the Ghaziabad police is deployed especially during the Navaratri fair. See also Nandmahar Dham References Hindu temples in Uttar Pradesh Durga temples 17th-century Hindu temples Ghaziabad district, India