As the Sun rose over the skyline on Friday, the temple bells started ringing ushering in the auspicious moments and the faithful started trickling into the Dhayana Buddha ghat on the banks of River Krishna at Dharanikota.
The 1.3-km ghat built overlooking the Dhyana Buddha statue was not exactly teeming with people but pilgrims started arriving in droves as the day wore on.
Walking from the designated parking places, the devotees seemed to be in no hurry as they went about their rituals.
For the police personnel, who have been on duty since Thursday night, the sparse crowds were a bit surprising.
“We expect about 50,000 pilgrims to take a holy dip by the end of the day. We understand that many families are busy in “Varalakshmi Vratam,’’ and we expect a sizeable crowd during the weekend,’’ said Superintendent of Police, Guntur Rural, K. Narayan.
That tragedy
One factor could have made people a bit wary of coming to the ghats on day one. With the memory of the tragedy at the Godavari Pushkaramulu in Rajahmundry still fresh in mind, many people preferred to come later. Also, with many women performing Varalakshmi Vratam, families decided to stay away from the ghats.
Most of the devotees seemed to be happy with the arrangements made for ferrying them to the ghat from the parking lots. RTC buses and private school buses have been used for the purpose.
“We are quite happy with the arrangements made so far. The distance between the parking lot and the ghat is less, though the change rooms could have been positioned in a better way,’’ said E. Chandrasekhar from Guntur.
Just a few metres away, the rituals began at 5.45 am at the traditional ghat at the Amareswara Swamy Temple.
