Hectic activity was witnessed atop Indrakeeladri, abode of goddess Kanaka Durga, here on Saturday. The pilgrims thronged the place in good numbers to have a glimpse of the presiding deity decked up as Sri Annapurna Devi, on the fourth day of the festival.
The hill shrine came alive with the devotees pouring in large numbers and the queue lines extended up to the first turning on the hill, which was not the case during last three days. The bathing ghats were abuzz with activity. The pilgrims began reaching the city from the early hours of the day in tourist buses and cars. There was a heavy rush of pilgrims at all bathing ghats from the early hours of the day and it continued till afternoon.
Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, Kadapa MP and YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy separately visited the temple.
Speaking to mediapersons on the occasion, Mr. Rajagopal said that they had visited the temple to examine the arrangements made for the festivities. The arrangements were up to the mark, and satisfactory. The devotees were in praise of, and expressed their satisfaction over the arrangements, he said.
When asked about flyover near Durga ghat, he said that there were some technical problems which the officials were studying. The Inner Ring Road (IRR) was nearing completion.
The Outer Ring Road (ORR) was sanctioned, and the works would be taken up shortly.
If both IRR and ORR came into operation, the pressure on the road near Durga ghat would come down considerably. And it could be solely used for the temple, he said. Vijayawada (West) MLA Velampalli Srinivas and others accompanied him.
Mr. Jagan, however, did not address the media. Anaparthy MLA Sesha Reddy, Anantapur MLA Srikanth Reddy, Rayachoti MLA Guruva Reddy also paid a visit to the temple. They said that they had prayed to the goddess to fulfil the objectives and aims of Mr. Jagan, and keep the State united. They also said that they would like to seem him (Mr. Jagan) as chief minister of the State.
Committee formed
Midway through the Dasara festivities a Jumbo organizing committee has been formed with 34 members comprising only four women members, who included Vennam Rajini, Naraharishetti Nirmala Devi, Batchu Madhavi and Kopparapu Uma.
Ever since the proposal to constitute a festival committee hit the headlines, it had invited more criticism than being welcomed.
The TDP leaderdsthen alleged that unscrupulous elements were making entry into the committee.
The other members include: Balasani Kiran, Vakkalagadda Hari Krishna, Dodla Hemanth, Kola Prasad, Gurram Subbaiah, Sunkara Bhimarjuna Rao, Mandarapu Venkateswara Rao, Panchakarla Hari Babu, Vukoti Seshagiri, Pinnaboyina Veera Prakasa Rao, Rekha Venkata Nagendra Prasad, Repakula Prasad, Kunderu Syam, Vikram Mohan, Banka Bhaskar, P. Subba Raidu, Yerramsetti Venkateswara Rao, Surisetti Prasad, Guntla Rammohana Rao, Gangisetti Ayyappa, Gudipati Sri Ramachandra Dattu, Kottamasu Naga Sai Ramesh, AVSN Rao, Kale Pulla Rao, Vukoti Ramesh, Batchu Madhavi, Gundapu Chandra Sekhar, Kata Malleswara Rao, Pothina Paidi Rao, Duddukuri Shiva and Narindi Kanaka Rao.
