Devotional fervour reached a crescendo in the temple town of Vemulawada here with devotees heading to the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy devasthanam to take part in the three-day Mahasivaratri jatara that kicked off on Tuesday. On their lips were chants of ‘Aum Namah Shivaya and ‘Har Har Mahadev’.
The entire town is presently packed to the brim with the arrival of the pilgrims from various nooks and corners of the State as well as from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
Before the crack of the dawn, the devotees formed serpentine queues to offer prayers after taking a holy dip in ‘dharmagundam’ (holy tank). The authorities had also made arrangements for showering at the holy tank. In view of the devotee rush, the devasthanam has cancelled all arjitha sevas and allowed only ‘laghu’ darsan.
Minister for Endowments A. Indrakaran Reddy and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams JEO Srinivasa Raju offered silk vastrams to the presiding deity. Vemulawada legislator Ch Ramesh Babu and Collector D. Krishna Bhaskar accompanied them.
The special attraction at the jatara was the ‘Sivarchana’, cultural programmes organised by the Culture department. The authorities ensured that devotees secured safe and comfortable darsan by restricting the VIP guests. The Collector and SP Vishwajit K. camped at the temple to oversee the arrangements.
Prayers at Edupayala
The Vana Durga Bhavani temple at Edupayala was packed to the hilt on Tuesday with a steady stream of devotees pouring in to offer prayers on the auspicious occasion.
Deputy Speaker M. Padma Devender Reddy and Lok Sabha member Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, who visited the temple to offer prayers, presented pattu vastralu to the deities. “An amount of ₹1.5 crore was sanctioned to the temple for organising the Sivaratri programme. Another ₹3 crore will be sanctioned to construct a heritage guest house. The construction of roads and a bridge near Pothashettypally are nearing completion and would reduce distance to the temple by 50 km for pilgrims coming from Hyderabad, Sangareddy and other places,” Ms. Padma told mediapersons.
She also inaugurated the EO office constructed near the temple.
The Komuravelli Mallikarjuana Swamy temple in Siddipet and Ketaki Sangameswara temple located at Jarasangam in Sangareddy district also witnessed heavy rush of devotees.
Annual jataras
Shiva temples, including a few historic shrines of the Kakatiya era, across the district came alive with a flurry of religious activities. Annual religious jataras began on a devotional note at various pilgrim centres, including Teerthala in Khammam rural mandal, Snanala Lakshmipuram in Wyra mandal, Polampally in Karepalli mandal, and Madhira.
Khammam MLA Puvvada Ajay Kumar was seen offering prayers at the Sri Ganapeshwaralayam temple while TPCC president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and his wife Nandini, chairperson of Amma Foundation, performed special pujas at the Sri Ramalineshwara Swamy temple at Snanala Lakshmipuram.
The rural police have installed 20-odd CCTV cameras in and around the village to monitor the celebrations. Several swimmers were also deployed on the banks of Akeru river at Teerthala as a precautionary measure.
In Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, a host of Naga Sadhus from the northern parts of India offered prayers at Sri Bramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple in Annapureddypalli.
