LUCKNOW, Dec. 30 -- There is an unprecedented turnout of devotees in Uttar Pradesh's temple towns of Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura ahead of the New Year, prompting respective administrations to make arrangements for crowd management and safety of visitors. Among these places, Ayodhya has turned out to be the most favourite destination for pilgrims as the footfall here started surging in the last week of December. On December 24 and 25, more than 2.5 lakh devotees visited the place and by December 26 evening, more than one lakh more devotees landed in Ayodhya. This influx is expected to continue till January 1. The formal start of the second anniversary celebrations of the consecration of Ram Lalla began on December 27. The main ceremony of Pratishtha Dwadashi will be held on December 31 in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh and CM Yogi Adityanath. The local administration and police have made special arrangements for crowd control. Ayodhya DM Nikhil Tikaram Funde said if the crowd increases on January 1, holding areas at all entry points to the city will be activated. In such a case, vehicles will be stopped there and devotees will be allowed to enter Ayodhya in groups. Meanwhile, an advisory has been issued by the management of Thakur Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Mathura, asking devotees not to come to Vrindavan until and unless it is too necessary from December 29 till January 5 in view of excessive crowd turnout at the temple on the New Year. Munesh Sharma, manager at Thakur Banke Bihari Temple, in an advisory issued on Sunday evening asked devotees not to visit Vrindavan till January 5. "Situation is expected to remain like this till first week of January," he added. "In case a devotee visits a temple, they should carry minimum baggage and avoid bringing valuable items. Listen to the public address system in area around the temple and follow entry and exit route only. Devotees should leave their footwears at assigned places on the way to the temple," says the sign board on the way to the temple in Vrindavan. Sharma suggested those aged, children and suffering from illness should avoid crowds at temples. Local administration has already prohibited heavy vehicles in Vrindavan and only limited e-rickshaws are allowed. Light vehicles are having restricted entry, with most vehicles required to be parked at designated parking zones at the entry points of Vrindavan, where arrangements have been made for parking around 7,000 vehicles. Mathura SSP Shlok Kumar said lakhs of devotees are likely to visit Mathura and Vrindavan over the coming days. "The Mathura Nagar Nigam has prepared a traffic plan to regulate movement of e-rickshaws on roads leading to major shrines," he added. Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple administration has suspended "Sparsh Darshan" facility till January 3 in view of heavy crowds of devotees at the temple. Now, only "Jhanki Darshan"-an arrangement in which the devotees see Baba Kashi Vishwanath from the gate of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple-will be allowed. The decision was taken by the Temple Trust after over one lakh devotees offered prayers to Baba Kashi Vishwanath on Dec 24. The temple's CEO Vishwa Bhushan Mishra said, "There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of devotees at Baba Shri KV Temple since December 24 in view of winter vacation and the New Year. Because of that, it is not possible to accept the request for special darshan." Additional deputy commissioner of police, traffic, Anshuman Mishra said a diversion plan has been made. This will be implemented on the routes required. With a massive influx of tourists, Varanasi traffic police have implemented a route diversion plan effective from December 29 till January 5....