A day before Krishna Pushkarams will draw to a close (after the evening ‘Harati’ on Tuesday) saw pilgrims making a beeline to the popular ghats in Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts. Arrangements put in place by officials in the two districts were stretched at the seams on Monday as they struggled to ensure a comfortable experience for people, especially the old and infirm and the children.
Though the number of people taking a dip at the 80 ghats in the two districts varied from one government department to the other, what was clear that with just a day left for the 12-day event to come to an end, the rush was palpable. And all but the very few discerning people preferred to take their chances at the important ghats, unmindful of the rush.
The popular ghats in Mahabubnagar include Beechpalli and Rangapur on either side of the river, Gondimalla near Alampur, Somasila and Nandimalla near the Priyadarshini Jurala Project. In Nalgonda district, the three ghats at Nagarjunasagar on the Telangana side, Mattapally and Wadapally continued to draw the crowds by the lakh.
Those who wanted their ‘Pushkar’ dip to be a relatively peaceful, almost a picnic kind of a trip went to Adavidevulapalli, about 70 km away from the district headquarters town of Nalgonda and Mudimanikyam close by.
“The water in these two ghats is so clear, much-less-muddier than what is seen and were told about the so-called popular ghats.
The vegetation is so pleasing to the eye and yes, the crowds are nothing to worry about,” said Nalgonda Joint Collector M. Satyanarana referring to the feedback he received from people who preferred these ghats for their holy dip.
Not to forget, thousands of officials, at least 35,000 people including students belonging to the National Cadet Corps and the NSS and representations of over a dozen volunteers were eagerly looking to the end of their fortnight-long duty.
Most of them could manage just a few hours of sleep every night and it sure was taxing for them, standing for long hours every day.
