The 10-day Dasara festivities began on a grand note at Sri Kanaka Durga Temple atop Indrakeeladri on Tuesday, but low water levels in river Krishna is causing inconvenience to devotees to take a holy dip in the river before having darshan of the goddess.
A few devotees could manage with waist-deep water level at VIP and Durga ghats. Dried up riverbed greeted those who came to Sitammavari Padalu and Pushkar Ghats downstream Prakasam barrage. The turnout was less on the first day on Tuesday and as the festival comes to a close, the crowd will surge, temple officials say.
As there is no water at Sitammavari Padalu and Pushkar ghats, devotees will eventually throng Durga ghat. A senior official says it will be difficult to manage the crowd at Durga Ghat if there is heavy rush especially during this weekend. Surprisingly, there is no alternative plan to divert surging crowd, he says.
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Another for reason devotees to prefer Durga Ghat is its proximity to the temple. After having bath at the ghat, the devotees can easily enter the queue and reach the temple. On its part, the administration claimed that showers were arranged at Sitammavari Padalu Ghat and Durga Ghat for the convenience of devotees. Surveillance cameras were also installed to constantly monitor the flow of crowd.