Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family members drove down in two special buses to Alampur on Thursday evening as part of his 15-hour Krishna Pushkaram programme in Mahabubnagar district to take a bath in the river and offer special prayers in remembrance of his ancestors.
Over a dozen family members apart, he was accompanied by Ministers A. Indrakaran Reddy, K. Laxma Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao. As soon as he reached Alampur at about 5.30 p.m., Mr. Rao met a host of guests who called on him, including several priests. Although an earlier schedule stated that he would go to the temple of goddess Jogulamba at Alampur, one of the five ‘Shakti Peethas’, the Chief Minister did not step out of the guesthouse.
He and his family are staying at Harita guesthouse, the property of the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) that has become a fortress with multi-layered security. Senior officials who were part of the entourage included Mahabubnagar District Collector T.K. Sreedevi and Superintendent of Police Rema Rajeshwari. Also present were TSTDC Chairman Pervaram Ramulu and its Managing Director Christina Z. Chongthu. The Chief Minister has an early day on Friday and it was said that he would drive to Gondimalla, a Greenfield bathing ghat that has been developed specially for VVIPs, a spot near which river Tungabhadra joins river Krishna. At 5.45 a.m., he will take a dip and priests will help him perform special ‘pujas’ after which he will have a darshan of the goddess Jogulamba. He will then go back to the guesthouse for breakfast and after an hour, he is expected to fly back to the State capital.
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