Heavy crowds were reported at Uttarakhand's Kainchi Dham during the Gandhi Jayanti long weekend, amid online claims that viewers of the devotional drama Hanuman Ansh were travelling there for darshan.
Director Vishal Chaturvedi responded with a video message asking people to check the situation before visiting the spiritual site. He said the appeal applied whether or not the film had contributed to the increase in visitors.
Kainchi Dham is a well-known ashram and Hanuman temple associated with Neem Karoli Baba. The site attracted large numbers of visitors during the break from 2 to 4 October, when a public holiday was followed by the weekend.
The same holiday period also saw heavy tourist movement at other destinations. Long queues of vehicles were reported on the Mussoorie–Dehradun road as crowds gathered in Mussoorie.
