Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri has been decked up for the 10-day Dasara festival, which begins on Sunday. All roads leading to the Kanka Durga temple are being spruced up. Arches have been erected at different parts of the city welcoming pilgrims for the festival. The temple authorities are making arrangements for a hassle-free darshan. The queue lines start from Vinayaka temple on Canal Road to the temple. Formation of queues, annadanam, water supply, ghat road electrification, cloak rooms, chappal stand, toilets, and temporary dressing rooms are some of the arrangements being made for the devotees. Besides arranging lights at bathing ghats, showers, toilets, information centres, changing rooms, medical aid, etc,, would be available at the ghats.
The temple management has made arrangements for supplying water sachets and extending medical assistance to devotees in the queues. Milk to toddlers and butter milk to all devotees visiting the temple would be supplied.
Nagarotsavam
Temple Executive Officer M. V. Suresh Babu said the temple had planned to conduct Nagarotsavam, which would be a special attraction this year. Brahma ratham, sankeertanas, kolatam, nrityam, saxophone, sannayi, chenda vadyam (kerala drummers), etc would be part of the nagarotsavam. The estimated expenditure for the festival would be around ₹7 crore, he added.
The temple priests will perform ‘snapana’ to the presiding deity at 3 a.m. on the first day of festival on Sunday. The temple will be thrown open to devotees for darshan at 9 a.m. From Monday onwards, the teple would be open from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Moola nakshtram day (Saraswati alankaram) darshan will be from 3 a..m. to 11 p.m. The festival ends with Teppotsavam on October 8. The temple is expecting 15 lakh devotees this year.
