Gandhinagar, Jan 9 : With spiritual fervour gripping the city amidst the four-day 'Swabhiman Parv' celebrations, a large number of Lord Shiva devotees arrived in Somnath on Friday morning via special trains.

The devotees hailing from Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad reached the holy city this morning and were accorded a warm welcome with drumbeats and traditional 'Bhathigal Garba'.

The Gujarat government has made special arrangements for Shiva devotees for the 'Somnath Swabhiman Parv', a celebration of India's spiritual faith being held from January 8 to 11.

As part of these efforts, special train services have been introduced for safe, smooth, and convenient travel to the sacred Somnath Dham.

The devotees were given a special welcome at the Veraval Railway Station. They were greeted with 'kumkum tilak' and bouquets.

The station premises echoed with devotional fervour as chants of 'Har Har Mahadev â?? Jai Somnath' reverberated at the Veraval railway station.

Also, the State Road Transport Corporation has arranged special bus services between the station and the temple for ferrying devotees to Somnath for darshan.

With the introduction of special train services, Shiva devotees are benefiting from timely and comfortable travel.

A range of facilities, including transportation, guidance, and overall management, have been implemented for comfortable, convenient and seamless darshan of Lord Somnath.

Integrated measures have been taken to ensure smooth movement and convenience for devotees travelling from Veraval Railway Station to the Somnath Temple.

A couple of devotees also shared their first-hand experience of the seamless service.

Akshay Panchal from Tapi district stated that the facilities have made their pilgrimage easy.

He expressed happiness and also thanked the state government for making arrangements.

Heli Rathod, a resident of Surat, welcomed the transportation services initiated by the state government and said that this will serve the pilgrims to a large extent.

Praising the bus service from the railway station to Somnath temple, she said that this will ensure that devotees have a hassle-free journey and a memorable trip to the temple.

/IANS